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Historic,  Archive  Document 

Do  not  assume  content  reflects  current 
scientific  knowledge,  policies,  or  practices. 

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i 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Volume  XFS^ 


APKIL,  1920 


Number  10 


FEATURES  IN  THIS  ISSUE : 

Growing  the  Almond  in  California 
Dusting  and  tKe  Spray  Gun 
Cold  Storage  Investigations 
Cultivating  the  LoganbernJ) 

Low  Temperatures  and  Fruit  Buds 


l_  I  B  R  /\  R  Y 

FARM  MANAGEMENT 
*     r.v-n    1  1Q9G  ^ 


THE  BARTLETT  PEAR 

Of  all  the  varieties  of  pears  the  Bartlett  has  assumed  the  most  important  place'in  the 
fruit  market  during  the  past  tv?o  ^ears.  Reports  from  California  arc  to  <he  effect  diat 
canners  are  already  offering  high  prices  for  the  coming  season's  crop. 


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April,  1920 


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Touring 
Roadster 
Coupe 
Sedan 


Built  to  stay  new 


Thus  saving  upkeep  costs 


WHILE  we  offer  the  latest  in  style, 
we  are  prouder  of  the  mechanical 
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We  have  always  built  a  lasting  car  — 
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cause we  know  how  our  "Parts  Depart- 
ment" has  been  dwindling.  Orders  for 
replacements  from  Mitchell  dealers  have 
been  growing  less  and  less,  and  today  we 
believe  our  replacement  orders  are  of  the 


fewest.  This  means  a  car  that  stays  new 
mechanically.  And  we've  taken  care  that 
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Go  to  a  Mitchell  dealer.  Or  send  for 
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Racine,  Wisconsin 


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BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


SIMONS,  SHUTTLEWORTH  &  CO. 

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An  Illustrated  Magazine  Devoted  to  the  Interests 
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Volume  XIV 


Portland,  Oregon,  April  1, 1920 


Number  10 


The  Growing  and  Culture  of  Almonds  in  California 


By  R.  H.  Taylor 
Published  by  the  College  of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California 


THE  almond  (prunus  communis)  is 
supposed  to  be  native  to  the  coun- 
tries around  the  Mediterranean 
and  at  present  the  bulk  of  the  world's 
supply  is  produced  in  that  region.  It  re- 
sembles the  peach  somewhat  in  manner 
of  growth  and  character  of  blossoms 
and  leaves,  but  the  wood  is  much  harder 
and  the  tree  is  longer-lived  under 
equally  favorable  conditions.  The  fruit, 
instead  of  having  a  thick,  fleshy  peri- 
carp as  in  the  case  of  the  peach,  has  a 
thin,  leathery  pericarp  or  hull,  which 
splits  on  ripening  and  generally  opens 
when  dry,  exposing  the  nut  inside. 

California  produces  over  98  per  cent 
of  the  entire  American  crop  and  has 
done  so  for  many  years.  During  the 
period  from  1900  to  1913  the  number 
of  bearing  trees  remained  approxi- 
mately the  same,  new  plantings  having 
replaced  old  orchards  that  were  being 
pulled  out.  The  variation  in  Califor- 
nia production  from  year  to  year  prior 
to  1915,  is  due  to  seasonal  variations 
rather  than  to  change  in  acreage. 

With  the  1915  crop  the  production 
in  California  entered  upon  what  ap- 
pears to  be  a  long  prospective  increase. 
The  large  acreage  of  almonds  set  out  in 
the  last  four  or  five  years  is  the  result 
of  greatly  improved  market  conditions 
due  to  the  successful  work  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Almond  Growers'  Exchange.  The 
first  of  these  new  plantings  are  now 
coming  into  bearing,  and  each  year  for 
many  years  in  the  future  will  continue 
to  see  increased  yields.  Large  acreages 
are  still  being  planted  so  that  the  al- 
mond production  in  California  bids 
fair  to  continue  to  grow. 

Within  the  next  few  years  California 
growers  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
forced  to  accept  lower  prices  for  their 
almonds  than  they  are  now  receiving. 
The  American  markets  are  fully  sup- 
plied at  present  prices,  yet  constantly 
increasing  acreage  will  inevitably  re- 
sult in  a  greatly  increased  tonnage. 
European  almonds  are  being  produced 
at  a  lower  net  cost  and  can  be  laid 
dowi)  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  more  cheap- 
ly than  is  possible  with  the  California 
product.  This  brings  the  grower  face 
to  face  with  the  necessity  of  becoming 
more  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  most 
economical  methods  of  production  and 
marketing  if  they  are  to  continue  to 


make  a  profit.  It  is  essential,  therefore, 
that  a  careful  study  be  made  of  all  the 
factors  concerned  in  the  growth,  pro- 
duction and  final  disposition  of  the  al- 
mand  crop. 

Habits 

The  almond  is  the  first  of  the  decid- 
uous fruit  trees  to  start  growth  and 
come  into  bloom  in  the  spring,  and 
normally  the  last  one  to  shed  its  leaves 
in  the  fall.  In  other  words,  it  has  a 
very  short  period  of  rest.  When  the 
trees  are  forced  into  premature  dor- 
mancy by  mites  or  lack  of  moisture, 
they  soon  reach  the  end  of  their  normal 
rest  period  before  the  winter  season  is 
over.  Then  the  first  warm  weather  in 
spring  will  bring  the  trees  into  blos- 
som. In  some  cases  where  moisture 
and  temperature  conditions  are  favor- 
able late  in  the  fall,  they  may  actually 
blossom  before  the  winter  season.  In 
young  trees  that  have  become  dormant 
unusually  early,  the  rest  period  may 
terminate  and  then  the  tips  of  the 
branches  resume  growth  and  continue 
to  slowly  develop  new  leaves  at  the 


terminals  throughout  the  winter.  Trees 
which  have  been  kept  growing  thriftily 
until  the  leaves  have  been  forced  to  fall 
by  the  cold  weather  and  frosts  of  win- 
ter, do  not  tend  to  blossom  as  early  in 
the  spring,  nor  do  they  open  under  the 
influence  of  a  few  days  of  warm  wea- 
ther in  late  winter  or  early  spring. 

Young  trees  blossom  somewhat  later 
than  the  older  trees,  and  buds  on  sucker 
growth  blossom  later  than  the  more 
mature  portions  of  the  same  tree.  The 
difference  may  amount  to  three  or  four 
days  or  almost  a  week.  Well-grown 
trees  carry  large  numbers  of  blossoms 
over  the  entire  tree. 

The  wood  of  the  almond  is  very  hard 
and  strong,  enabling  the  tree  to  bear 
the  weight  of  heavy  crops  where  prun- 
ing has  been  given  proper  attention 
during  the  formative  period  of  the 
young  tree.  As  with  other  fruit  trees, 
the  almond  is  subject  to  heart-rot  and 
care  should  always  be  exercised  to  pre- 
vent the  checking  and  cracking  of  large 
wounds  and  consequent  infection  with 
decay  organisms.    The  hardness  of  the 


Courtesy  College  of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California 

Typical  hillside  orchard  of  Jordan  almonds  near  Los  Gatos.    Trees  are  variable  in 
size  and  some  are  missing.    In  the  right  foreground  is  a  typical  spot  of  missing 
trees  resulting  from  oak  fungus  infection. 


Page  4 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  Ip20 


Courtesy  College  of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California 

Showing  almond  trees  that  have  been  deheaded  and  topworked.  This  illustration 
shows  the  trees  after  the  tops  have  had  two  seasons'  growth  and  just  after  they 

had  been  pruned. 


wood  makes  it  the  finest  kind  of  fuel 
and  when  old  orchards  are  being  dug 
up  the  returns  from  the  sale  of  wood 
often  more  than  pay  for  the  expense 
of  digging  and  cutting  up  the  trees  and 
burning  the  brush. 

The  nuts  are  of  two  general  classes — 
sweet  and  bitter  almonds.  The  former 
is  primarily  the  almond  of  commerce, 
though  the  latter  is  used  largely  in  the 
manufacture  of  almond  oil  and  almond 
flavoring,  as  well  as  in  the  manufacture 
of  prussic  acid.  The  bitter  almond  is 
also  used  largely  in  nurseries  as  a  root- 
stock  upon  which  to  bud  the  almond 
and  some  other  fruits. 

For  a  long  time  there  has  been  con- 
siderable evidence  to  show  that  some 
varieties  are  always  self-sterile  while 
a  few  are  sometimes  self-fertile.  Work 
done  in  1916  and  1917  by  Prof.  Tufts 
shows  that  practically  all  varieties  are 
self-sterile  and  that  some  of  the  self- 
sterile  varieties  are  also  inter-sterile. 
In  these  tests  the  principal  commercial 
varieties  were  used.  Blossoms  of  each 
variety  were  pollenized  with  pollen 
from  its  own  blossoms  and  from  each  of 
the  others.  Checks  were  for  natural 
pollination  with  each  variety.  The  im- 
portant results  of  this  work  are  briefly 
summarized  as  follows: 

The  Nonpariel  and  I.X.L.  are  inter- 
sterile,  although  both  are  inter-fertile 
with  the  Ne  Plus  Ultra. 

The  Languedoc  and  Texas  are  inter- 
sterile. 

The  I.X.L.  and  Peerless  are  practically 
inter-sterile. 

The  California  has  proved  the  best 
pollenizer  thus  far  tested,  for  all  varie- 
ties that  bloom  near  it. 

The  Drake  is  inter-fertile  with  the 
Nonpareil,  I.X.L.,  Ne  Plus  Ultra,  Peer- 
less and  Jordan,  the  only  ones  tested. 

The  I.X.L.  is  inter-fertile  with  the 
Drake,  Jordan,  California,  Languedoc, 
Ne  Plus  Ultra  and  Texas. 

The  Ne  Plus  Ultra  is  inter-fertile  with 
the  California,  Drake,  I.X.L.,  Languedoc 
and  Nonpareil. 


Requirements 
Whil^  the  almond  is  in  many  ways 
an  easy  tree  to  grow  where  conditions 
are  favorable,  it  is  more  particular  in 
its  requirements  than  most  common  or- 
chard fruits,  and  the  grower  may  find 


it  difficult  to  produce  a  good,  thrifty 
tree  unless  he  chooses  the  proper  loca- 
tion. Very  often  it  will  grow  well  and 
make  a  fine  healthy  tree,  but  owing  to 
unfavorable  conditions,  will  not  bear 
regularly,  if  at  all. 

Climate 

Heat — Where  the  conditions  of  soil 
and  moisture  are  favorable  the  almond 
will  endure  the  intense  heat  of  the  in- 
terior valleys  and  even  of  the  Imperial 
Valley,  provided  it  is  pruned  properly 
to  shade  the  main  branches  so  as  to  pre- 
vent sunburn.  Where  trees,  by  severe 
pruning,  are  opened  up  suddenly  to  the 
intense  heat  of  the  summer  sun,  al- 
monds will  sunburn,  but  if  the  neces- 
sary opening  up  is  done  gradually,  the 
bark  will  become  inured  to  the  new 
conditions  without  danger.  The  nuts 
grow  and  ripen  more  satisfactorily  in 
the  greater  heat  of  the  interior  than 
along  the  coast. 

Frost — The  almond  tree  is  hardy  and 
will  endure  fully  as  much  cold  as  the 
hardiest  peach  without  injury.  Trees 
are  found  growing  well  in  Illinois, 
Ohio,  New  York  and  other  Eastern 
states.  In  very  favorable  seasons  they 
may  even  bear  fruit,  though  this  hap- 
pens very  seldom,  due  to  the  extremely 
early  habit  of  blooming  before  the 
spring  frosts  are  over.  The  first  warm 
weather  seems  to  start  the  trees  into 


Courtesy  College  of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California 

Typical  Ne  Plus  Ultra  a!mond  tree  in  University  Farm  orchard  at  Davis,  California, 

nine  years  old. 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  3 


bloom,  especially  where  the  enforced 
dormant  season  of  winter  is  very  long. 

The  blossoms,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
very  tender.  There  is  a  great  range  in 
the  degree  of  frost  which  will  cause 
injury,  depending  largely  on  the  condi- 
tion of  the  tree  during  the  time  that  the 
fruit  buds  are  forming  and  developing, 
as  well  as  on  the  duration  and  severity 
of  the  frost.  Buds  and  blossoms  on  trees 
which  have  been  forced  into  premature 
dormancy,  either  by  lack  of  moisture  or 
by  severe  attacks  of  red  spider,  are 
much  more  susceptible  to  frost  than 
those  on  trees  which  have  continued 
growth  late  enough  in  the  fall  to  pro- 
vide for  the  proper  development  and 
maturity  of  the  buds.  After  differentia- 
tion of  fruit  buds  commences  in  the 
summer,  the  almond  leaves  should  re- 
main on  the  tree  until  late  into  the  fall 
in  order  to  strengthen  and  develop  the 
fruit  buds  and  store  up  the  elaborated 
food  material  for  the  use  of  the  buds 
in  their  normal  development  through 
the  winter.  Studies  of  almond  buds 
gathered  from  healthy  trees  which  held 
their  leaves  until  late  fall  frosts  at 
Davis,  showed  the  first  evidence  of  dif- 
ferentiation between  fruit  and  flower 
buds  commencing  about  August  18, 
while  the  flower  was  not  completely 
developed  until  February  18  following. 
During  the  intervening  time  develop- 
ment proceeded  unchecked  through  the 
winter  even  though  the  tree  was  ap- 
parently dormant.  During  the  time  the 
crop  is  ripening  on  the  trees,  little  is 
done  toward  storing  food  material  for 
the  buds.  If  the  leaves  turn  yellow  or 
drop  soon  after  harvest,  the  trees  do 
not  have  the  opportunity  of  storing  a 
sufficient  supply  of  plant  food  for  their 
normal  requirements  and  the  buds  are 
insufficiently  nourished  during  the 
winter  period.  The  resulting  buds  arc 
weakened  and  the  indications  are  thai 
they  are  unable  to  endure  unfavorable 
climatic  conditions  in  the  spring,  such 
as  light  frosts,  continued  cold  weather 


Courtesy  College  of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California 
Illustration  showing  some  of  the  almond  varieties  grown  in  California. 


or  sudden  changes  from  warm  to  cold 
weather. 

The  most  tender  stage  in  the  blossom- 
ing and  development  of  the  young  fruit 
seems  to  be  immediately  following  the 
dropping  of  the  calyx  lobes  from  the 
young  fruit  as  it  first  commences  to 
swell  rapidly.  The  blossom  becomes 
more  and  more  tender  as  it  opens  out 
and  reaches  the  above  stage.  After  the 
young  fruit  has  attained  the  size  of  a 
pea  it  rapidly  becomes  more  resistant 
to  low  temperatures.  Blossoms  with 
the  petals  exposed  but  not  yet  opened 
have  been  known  to  stand  temperatures 
of  24  degrees  F.  and  blossoms  with 
petals  beginning  to  fall  have  stood  28 
degrees  F.  No  records  are  available 
as  to  the  duration  of  these  temperatures. 


Courtesy  College  of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California 
Harvesting  ;ilmonds  by  knocking  onlo  sheets  spread  on  the  ground. 


In  other  cases,  blossoms  with  the  petals 
falling  have  been  killed  by  tempera- 
tures of  30  and  31  degrees  F.  It  must 
be  remembered  in  this  connection  that 
the  almond  blooms  earlier  than  other 
orchard  fruits  and,  therefore,  is  often 
subjected  to  much  more  severe  frosts 
than  occur  during  the  blooming  period 
of  the  later  fruits.  The  greatest  injury 
is  likely  to  occur  when  a  frost  follows 
one  or  more  days  of  warm  weather. 
^^^len  the  mean  temperature  both  day 
and  night  remains  low,  frosts  that 
might  otherwise  kill  the  flowers  or  set- 
ting fruit  do  no  harm.  This  is  what 
occurred  in  February,  1917,  at  the  Uni- 
versity farm,  when  repeated  frosts  at 
blooming  time  did  not  harm  whatever. 

In  determining  the  desirability  of  a 
location  in  regard  to  its  freedom  from 
frost,  the  possibility  of  adequate  air 
drainage  is  an  important  item.  For 
this  reason  the  lands  along  the  lower 
foothills  immediately  above  the  floor  of 
the  valleys  are  ordinarily  much  less 
subject  to  frost — because  the  cold  air 
is  free  to  drain  away  to  the  lower  levels. 
Generally  the  lands  along  the  banks  of 
streams  which  have  been  built  up  high- 
er than  the  other  lands  of  the  Great 
Valleys  through  which  they  flow,  are 
less  subject  to  frost  by  reason  of  the 
natural  flow  of  the  cold  air  from  them 
to  the  lower  lands  adjacent.  For  the 
same  reason  the  planting  of  almonds  in 
the  lower  lands  of  the  valleys,  no  mat- 
ter how  large  the  valleys  may  be, 
should  be  avoided,  unless  the  locality 
has  been  thoroughly  tested  for  a  long 
period  of  years  and  has  proved  to  be 
an  exception  to  the  rule  because  of 
some  peculiar  situation  with  favoring 
air  currents  or  air  drainage,  such  as 
might  exist  near  a  natural  draw  in  the 
hills  where  the  settling  of  the  cold  air 
in  some  portions  of  the  adjacent  valley 
might  be  prevented.  Such  locations  are 
generally  confined  to  very  small  areas. 
Oftentimes  an  opening  or  draw  in  the 
hills  may  serve  as  an  outlet  for  the 


Page  6 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  IQ20 


drainage  of  much  colder  air  from  con- 
siderably higher  elevations  beyond,  and 
then  the  danger  from  frost  is  very 
greatly  increased.  This  is  very  com- 
mon where  cafions  act  as  drains  to 
conduct  the  cold  air  from  the  high  Si- 
erras to  the  valleys  below. 

Variable  weather  conditions,  and 
especially  as  regards  temperature  in  the 
spring  after  growth  commences,  are 
highly  undesirable.  Warm  weather 
immediately  followed  by  cold  tends  to 
produce  sour-sap,  fruit  drop  and  kin- 
dred physiological  ills.  Oftentimes 
crops  have  been  lost  where  no  frosts 
occurred  after  blooming  commenced, 
simply  due  to  sudden  changes  in  the 
weather.  However,  it  is  highly  prob- 
able that  the  greater  portion  of  the 
trouble  with  fruit  dropping,  when  of 
the  size  of  peas  or  larger,  is  due  to  im- 
proper pollination.  When  the  soil  is 
not  sufficiently  well  drained  at  such  a 
time,  the  sour-sap  effect  is  greatly  aug- 
mented. 

Humidity — Foggy  or  moist  weather 
during  ripening  or  harvesting  is  higly 
objectionable.  The  nuts  do  not  dry  oul 
rapidly  enough  on  the  trees  to  prevent 
the  growth  of  molds  and  consequent 
darkening  of  the  shells.  The  nuts  then 
require  much  heavier  bleaching  to 
brighten  them  properly  for  the  demands 
of  the  market.  The  damp  weather  pre- 
vents the  rapid  and  thorough  drying- 
out  of  the  kernel;  the  sulphur  fumes  are 
absorbed  by  the  moist  kernel  and  it 
sometimes  becomes  rancid  before  it  is 
six  months  old. 

Much  damp  weather  in  the  spring 
encourages  the  growth  of  "shothole" 
fungus  in  the  blossoms  and  fruit,  often 
causing  the  loss  of  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  crop;  the  loss  of  leaf  surface 
from  the  fungus  infection  is  sometimes 
so  great  as  to  materially  affect  the  vigor 
and  vitality  of  the  tree. 

Rainfall — It  is  impossible  to  state  any 
definite  amount  of  rainfall  which  will 
or  will  not  maintain  the  trees  and  en- 
able them  to  bear  regular  crops  of  nuts, 
for  so  much  depends  not  only  on  the 
variation  in  rainfall  in  different  sec- 
tions and  in  different  years,  as  regards 
distribution  throughout  the  year,  but 
also  on  the  time  and  intensity  of  the 
fall,  the  character  of  the  weather  fol- 
lowing the  rains  and  the  ability  of  the 
soil  to  receive  and  retain  the  rain  that 
falls.  Ordinarily,  however,  with  the 
above  factors  favorable,  it  is  conceded 
that  where  the  winter  rainfall  averages 
sixteen  inches,  almonds  can  generally 
be  grown  without  supplementing  the 
water  supply  by  irrigation,  if  the  or- 
chardist  exercises  reasonable  care  to 
conserve  the  moisture  for  the  use  of  the 
trees.  Where  the  rainfall  is  inadequate 
some  means  of  irrigation  must  be  found 
to  make  up  the  deficit. 

In  some  sections  the  annual  rainfall 
varies  greatly  from  year  to  year.  Often 
it  falls  in  such  a  way  that  a  large  pro- 
portion of  it  is  lost  in  the  surface  run- 
off. In  many  places  the  soil  is  so  leachy 
that  it  is  incapable  of  holding  sufficient 
water  for  the  use  of  the  trees  through- 
out the  summer,  much  of  the  winter 
rainfall  being  lost  in  the  underground 
drainage.  Under  either  of  these  condi- 
tions, 40  inches  of  rainfall  might  not 


be  sufficient.  Very  often  winter  rains 
are  followed  by  desiccating  winds  so 
that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  rain 
which  falls  is  lost  by  evaporation  be- 
fore anything  can  be  done  to  hold  it. 

Continued  rainy,  damp  and  cold  wea- 
ther at  the  time  of  blooming  is  apt  to 
sour  the  pollen  or  actually  wash  it 
away  and  thus  prevent  the  fertilization 
of  the  blossoms,  without  which  a  crop 
is  impossible.  Bees  and  other  insects 
are  the  principal  means  of  accomplish- 
ing the  pollination  of  almonds  and  such 
weather  prevents  them  from  working. 

Soil 

The  almond  is  a  deep-rooting  tree 
and  draws  heavily  upon  the  plant-nour- 
ishing elements  of  the  soil.  In  ripening 
the  large'  number  of  seeds  which  it  is 
required  to  do,  the  tree  must  draw  upon 
a  considerable  area  of  soil  in  order  to 
supply  the  large  amount  of  mineral  mat- 
ter that  is  needed  to  develop  and  ma- 
ture the  seeds.  Analyses  of  almonds,  as 
compared  with  other  commonly  grown 
fruits  and  nuts,  made  by  Colby,  show 
that  the  almond  leads  in  the  total  quan- 
tity of  mineral  matters  withdrawn  from 
the  soil.  Colby  further  states  that  "The 
stone  fruits  fall  much  below  the  al- 
mond in  total  ash  (mineral  matter)  ex- 
cepting the  olive,  the  ash  of  which, 
however,  is  largely  silica  (nearly  eight- 
tenths),  an  ingredient  so  plentifully 
distributed  in  all  soils  that  it  is  of  no 
pecuniary  value."  The  table  given  il- 
lustrates this  statement. 

These  figures  suggest  the  necessity 
of  having  a  deep,  rich,  well-drained 
soil  for  best  results.  For  this  reason 
and  because  of  the  deep-rooting  habit 
of  the  almond,  the  soil  should  be  at 
least  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep. 

Hardpan — Compacted  substrata  in  the 
soil,  whether  they  be  hard  clay  layers 
or  cemented  layers  of  silicious,  ferru- 
ginous or  calcareous  origin,  are  ob- 
jectionable. They  not  only  prevent  the 
roots  frorn  foraging  to  a  considerable 
depth  as  they  normally  tend  to  do,  but 
they  prevent  proper  drainage  and  aera- 
tion of  the  soil.  If  such  layers  are 
comparatively  thin,  that  is,  not  more 
than  two  or  three  feet  thick  at  the 
most,  they  may  be  shattered  with  dyna- 
mite so  as  to  allow  the  moisture,  air 
and  roots  to  penetrate  to  the  better  soil 
below.  Hardpan,  therefore,  should  be 
avoided  where  it  is  too  thick  to  be 
broken  up  or  where  it  is  not  underlaid 
by  desirable  soil. 

Humus — A  plentiful  supply  of  humus 
in  the  soil  is  essential.  It  not  only 
improves  the  physical  condition  of  the 
soil,  but  assists  drainage,  moisture  re- 
tention and  in  rendering  the  plant  food 
available  in  sufficient  quantities  for  the 
use  of  the  trees  and  for  the  maturing 


of  full  crops  of  almonds.  Many  or- 
chards have  been  very  light  producers 
year  after  year  because  of  a  deficiency 
of  humus  in  the  soil. 

Drainage — The  almond  root  is  very 
particular  as  to  its  air  and  moisture 
requirements  in  the  soil.  It  will  not 
endure  standing  water  in  the  soil  for 
any  length  of  time,  especially  during 
the  growing  season.  Exclusion  of  air 
by  excessive  moisture  is  believed  to  be 
one  of  the  most  productive  causes  of 
"sour-sap."  If  allowed  to  continue  for 
any  length  of  time  such  conditions  will 
cause  the  death  of  many  or  even  all 
the  roots  and  with  them  the  top. 

Water  Table — A  factor  which  is  very 
commonly  overlooked  in  connection 
with  the  natural  drainage  of  almond 
lands  is  the  position  of  the  water  table 
at  different  seasons  of  the  year.  Great 
care  must  be  exercised  in  choosing  a 
location  to  be  sure  that  the  water  table 
does  not  rise  during  the  summer.  This 
is  a  very  serious  problem  in  many  irri- 
gated sections.  Where  the  water  table 
during  the  winter  months  is  less  than 
12  feet  in  depth  it  is  highly  desirable 
to  have  as  little  fluctuation  as  possible. 
Where  fluctuations  take  place  at  a 
greater  depth  than  12  feet  they  are  not 
generally  serious.  The  ideal  condition 
is  where  the  water  table  is  highest  in 
winter  and  quickly  drops  after  the  win- 
ter rains  are  over,  to  a  depth  of  from 
10  to  12  or  15  feet,  remaining  at  that 
point  during  the  remainder  of  the  grow- 
ing season. 

The  soil  in  addition  to  being  well 
drained,  must  be  sufficiently  retentive 
of  moisture  to  supply  the  tree  through- 
out a  long,  dry  growing  season.  If  the 
soil  will  not  retain  a  sufficient  amount 
of  the  winter  and  spring  rains,  recourse 
must  be  had  to  irrigation  to  supply  the 
deficiency. 

Alkali — Alkali  lands  are  unsuited  to 
almond  culture  and  should  be  carefully 
avoided. 

In  summarizing  the  soil  requirements 
for  almond  culture,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  ideal  almond  soil  is  a  medium 
loam,  uniform  in  texture,  or  nearly  so, 
to  a  depth  of  at  least  twelve  feet,  well 
drained  and  yet  retentive  of  moisture 
for  the  use  of  the  tree  during  the  sum- 
mer. Fortunately  some  of  the  best 
almond  soils  are  situated  along  stream 
banks  where  the  land  is  relatively  high, 
and  is,  therefore,  less  subject  to  frost. 
These  streams  flowing  from  the  moun- 
tains and  foothills  have  built  up  their 
own  beds  by  the  detritus  brought  fromi 
the  hills.  The  coarser  particles  being 
deposited  first  and  nearest  the  stream 
itself,  make  the  better  drained  soils, 
while  the  finer  particles  and  the  clays, 
deposited  further  back  from  the  bank 
Continued  on  page  40. 


SOIL  INGREDIENTS  EXTRACTED  BY  THE  ALMOND,  AS  COMPARED  WITH  OTHER  ORCHARD 
TREES,  AS  SHOWN  BY  ANALYSES  OF  1,000  POUNDS  EACH  OF 
THE  CROPS  IN  A  FRESH  CONDITION. 


Phosphoric 

Potash,  Lime,  Acid,  Total  Ash,  Nitrogen, 

lbs.  lbs.  lbs.  lbs.  lbs. 

Almond  (hulled)                                                     5.49  1.72  4.33  15.00  16.40 

Almond  (not  hulled)                                              9.95  1.04  2.04  17.29  17.01 

Walnut  (hulled)                                                      1.50  1.81  2.78  7.50  10.20 

Walnut  (not  hulled)                                                8.18  1.55  1.47  12.98  5.41 

Chestnut  (hulled)                                                    3.72  .71  1.89  8.20  8.00 

Chestnut  (not  hulled)                                             3.67  1.20  1.58  9.52  6.40 

Prunes  (green)                                                        2.66  .13  .53  4.03  1.48 

Apricots  (green)                                                      2.83  .18  .71  5.16  2.29 

Olives                                                                      8.85  2..32  1.18  94.63*  5.85 


*  80.7  pounds  of  which  is  silica. 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  7 


Dusting  and  the  Spray  Gun  in  Calyx  Worm  Control 

By  Leroy  Childs,  Entomologist  and  Pathologist,  Hood  River  Experiment  Station 


EVER  since  the  late  Dr.  A.  J.  Cook 
carried  on  some  calyx  worm  con- 
trol experiments  in  Michigan  a 
half  century  ago  entomologists  have 
argued  relative  to  the  way  and  in  the 
amounts  this  poison  becomes  estab- 
lished in  the  calyx  cups.  The  correct 
type  of  nozzle  and  the  kind  of  spray 
necessary  to  accomplish  best  results 
have  been  a  much  mooted  question.  In 
this  connection  some  of  our  more  en- 
thusiastic colleagues  have  even  gone  so 
far  as  to  believe  that  one  well-timed 
calyx  application  would  be  sufficient  to 
handle  the  codling  moth  under  ordinary 
seasons  of  infestation. 

Observations  made  by  investigators  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  during 
recent  years  have  pointed  out  that  the 
percentage  of  calyx  entrants  is  a  very 
variable  factor  during  different  sea- 
sons in  different  sections.  It  has  been 
the  writer's  observation  that  during 
some  seasons  a  very  high  percentage  of 
the  worms  enter  through  the  calyx  and 
during  others  the  reverse  would  be  true. 
During  the  past  season  the  worms  en- 
tered in  about  equal  proportions 
through  the  calyx  and  side  on  Spitzen- 
bergs,  while  in  Newtowns,  side  en- 
trants occurred  in  a  much  larger  pro- 
portion. From  information  that  I  have 
received  from  various  sources  a  condi- 
tion of  this  sort  was  quite  general 
throughout  the  Northwest  during  the 
past  year. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  in  any  way 
depreciate  the  importance  of  the  calyx 
application  in  the  minds  of  orchardists. 
The  more  stress  that  we  can  lay  upon 
this  and  the  cover  sprays  the  better 
will  be  the  results.  However,  over- 
emphasis of  the  calyx  application  has 
been  harmful  in  that  it  has  had  a  tend- 
ency to  depreciate  (in  the  minds  of  the 
growers)  the  value  of  cover  sprays  and 
much  worminess  has  been  the  result. 

The  writer  has  been  keeping  in  very 
close  touch  with  codling  moth  activities 
in  Hood  River  for  six  years.  During 
the  past  four  years  experimental  work 
with  dust  and  sprays  of  various  sorts 
have  been  under  observation. 

The  dusting  method  of  applying  ar- 
senate of  lead  and  sulphur  to  apples  for 
the  control  of  various  insects  and  plant 
diseases  created  much  interest  follow- 
ing the  publication  of  the  work  of  Red- 
dick  and  Crosby  (Bulletins  354  and  369, 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Cor- 
nell University)  in  1914  and  1915.  The 
results  of  their  work  indicated  that 
apple  insects  and  diseases  of  import- 
ance in  the  East,  other  than  San  Jose 
scale  and  the  various  apple  aphids 
could  be  controlled  in  about  the  same 
degree  as  with  the  liquid.  In  the  West 
we  have  to  add  to  this  list  of  uncon- 
trollable troubles,  powdery  mildew, 
anthracnose,  and  the  leaf  roller  as  well 
as  a  few  minor  insect  pests.  This  fact 
places  very  decided  limit  upon  the 
general  utility  of  the  method  and  makes 
it  a  means  of  general  control  that  we 
cannot  recommend. 
The  results  of  Reddick  and  Crosby 


are  especially  interesting  to  me  as  I 
have  been  able  to  duplicate  their  re- 
sults with  scab  and  codling  moth  con- 
trol during  the  four  years  of  the  inves- 
tigation. To  the  entomologist  working 
on  codling  moth  control,  these  results 
should  be  decidedly  significant.  Red- 
dick and  Crosby  do  not  go  into  the 
critical  analysis  of  the  proportions  of 
calyx  and  side  worms  yet  their  good 
results  indicate  that  they  accomplished 
calyx  worm  control.  How  can  the  ad- 
vocate of  the  so-called  driving  calyx 
spray  explain  this  control?  The  writ- 
er's work  shows  that  this  control  is 
very  decidedly  accomplished.  The  dust 
cannot  be  driven.  Quiet  air-atmosphere 
is  the  carrying  medium  used  in  placing 
the  dust  particles  on  the  surfaces  which 
require  protection.  A  wonderful  coat- 
ing can  be  given  a  tree  even  to  its  up- 
permost branches.  Upper  and  under- 
surfaces  of  the  leaves  as  well  as  the 
fruit  alike  are  covered.  This  air  con- 
veyor being  in  motion  a  slight  breeze, 
very  light,  upsets  the  plans  of  proced- 
ure. A  breeze  makes  it  almost  impos- 
sible to  hit  the  tops  and  even  if  this 


were  accomplished  the  particles  are 
moved  past  the  surfaces  so  fast  that 
only  a  very  small  percentage  sticks. 
The  remainder  passes  on  and  is  wasted 
for  the  most  part.  "SMien  the  air  is 
quiet  these  particles  will  hover  for  a 
long  time  over  a  tree  and  gradually 
settle.  Air  currents  destroy  the  plan  of 
the  system  and  applications  made  under 
such  conditions  can  only  result  in  dis- 
aster. 

In  order  to  avoid  windy  conditions  it 
was  found  necessary  to  dust  very  early 
in  the  mornings;  a  calm  usually  occurs 
in  most  sections  of  the  valley  during 
this  period  of  the  day.  However,  with 
us  during  the  spring  months  it  is  not 
uncommon  for  a  wind  of  varying  de- 
gree to  occur  continuously  for  several 
days  at  a  time.  Many  times  in  the  carry- 
ing out  of  the  experimental  work  the 
dusting  had  to  be  postponed  for  more 
favorable  weather.  We  are  all  familiar 
with  the  fact  that  successful  applica- 
tions of  spray  cannot  be  delayed  to  any 
great  extent  and  at  the  same  time  ac- 


complish results.  Several  of  our  grow- 
ers have  used  the  dusting  method;  for 
the  most  part  their  work  has  been  done 
regardless  of  air  movement.  In  1918 
the  condition  of  the  fruit  in  one  of 
these  orchards  was  checked  up;  a  33 
per  cent  injury  from  the  codling  moth 
was  found.  None  of  the  growers  of  the 
valley  have  depended  upon  the  system 
during  the  past  year.  On  account  of 
the  many  handicaps  and  difficulties  en- 
countered I  do  not  recommend  the 
method  to  our  growers  except  those  lo- 
cated on  steep  hillsides  and  in  sections 
where  sufficient  water  for  spraying  is 
difficult  to  obtain. 

The  results,  however,  that  have  been 
obtained  in  calyx  worm  control  have  a 
very  decided  bearing  on  the  results  that 
can  be  expected  with  the  spray  gun 
when  properly  used.  For  this  reason  I 
will  discuss  some  of  the  results  that 
have  been  obtained  in  seasons  past  with 
both  dust  and  liquid  applications.  These 
results  are  summarized  on  the  accom- 
panying chart.  In  1917  the  unsprayed 
check  trees  in  an  orchard  which  had 
been  quite  wormy  for  several  seasons. 


developed  an  infestation  of  65.13  per 
cent.  Of  this  infestation  31.68  per  cent 
were  side  worms  and  68.32  per  cent 
were  calyx  worms.  The  variety  used 
in  this  set  of  experiments  were  Arkan- 
sas Blacks.  This  ratio  did  not  hold  true 
in  all  varieties.  In  an  orchard  of 
Spitzenbergs  this  ratio  was  66.96  per 
cent  side  worms  and  33.04  per  cent 
calyx  w^orms.  In  a  Newtown  block 
this  ratio  was  61.54  per  cent  to  38.46 
per  cent  side  and  calyx  worms  respect- 
ively. In  the  block  of  Arkansas  Blacks 
two  dust  experiments  were  checked 
against  two  blocks  of  trees  sprayed 
with  twelve  foot  rods.  In  experiments 
number  1  and  3  an  early  September  ap- 
plication was  omitted,  resulting  in  a 
much  more  wormy  condition  than  oc- 
curred in  experiments  2  and  4.  These 
different  experiments  are  cited  to  show, 
that  regardless  of  this  marked  differ- 
ence in  worminess  the  general  relation 
of  side  and  calyx  worms  remains  fairly 
constant,  though  with  the  increase  in 
total  worminess  the  chances  of  calyx 


Apple  blossoms  just  after  the  Almost  too  late  for  the  most  efifective 

falling  of  petals;  best  time  to  treatment.  Observe  that  the  calyx  cup 

spray  for  codling  moth.  is  nearly  closed. 


Page  8 


BETTER  FRQIT 


April,  IQ20 


entrants  also  increases.  The  very 
marked  difference  between  the  figures 
obtained  on  the  check  trees  as  compared 
to  both  dusted  and  sprayed  indicate  the 
influences  that  are  brought  to  bear  in 
calyx  worm  control.  Experiment  2 
(dust)  gave  the  best  calyx  worm  con- 
trol during  1917  where  the  ratio  was 
found  to  be  92.99  to  7.01,  side  and  calyx' 
worms  respectively.  Experiment  4 
(rods)  followed  with  an  80  to  20  ratio. 
The  gun  was  not  tested  in  this  orchard 
in  1917.  These  blocks,  as  has  been 
stated,  were  sprayed  extra  in  Septem- 
ber. The  rods  in  the  heavier  infesta- 
tion gave  slightly  better  calyx  control, 
73.55  per  cent  being  side  entrants  as 
compared  to  71.6  per  cent  in  the  dust 
block. 

Dusting  work  was  not  continued  in 
the  Arkansas  Black  orchard  in  1918  but 
was  continued  in  a  block  of  Newtowns 
in  a  different  orchard.  As  will  be  noted 
in  experiment  6  the  check  block  for 
this  series  of  experiments  developed  a 
17.64  per  cent  infestation.  During  this 
season  throughout  the  district  a  greater 
percentage  of  side  worms  entered  than 
calyx  worms.  The  unsprayed  checks 
developed  7.3.29  per  cent  side  worms  as 
compared  to  but  26.7  per  cent  calyx 
worms.  However,  regardless  of  this 
rather  small  percentage  of  calyx  worms 
the  difference  of  amount  in  calyx 
worm  control  is  again  pointed  out  in 
the  results  obtained.  During  this  season 
calyx  entrants  were  cut  down  to  5.2 
per  cent  in  the  dust  block.  These  re- 
sults were  checked  against  a  block 
sprayed  with  a  gun  in  the  same  orchard 
which  developed  but  .44  per  cent 
wormy  fruit,  and  perfect  control  as  far 
as  calyx  worm  control  is  concerned. 
This  work  was  continued  in  these  same 
blocks  in  1919,  and  though  not  pre- 
sented on  the  chart  gave  the  following 
results.  The  check  trees  developed 
80  per  cent  side  and  20  per  cent  calyx 
infestation.  The  figures  in  the  dust 
block  are  96.77  per  cent  side  worms  and 
3.22  per  cent  calyx  worms.  The  gun 
block,  however,  upheld  the  1918  per- 
formance and  developed  not  a  single 
calyx  worm  in  the  apples  counted.  The 
figures  look  too  good  but  nevertheless 
these  are  the  ones  obtained.  At  this 
point  I  might  add  that  this  orchard 
outside  of  the  experimental  work  that 
has  been  conducted  with  dust,  has  been 
sprayed  with  a  gun  only  since  1917. 

Before  being  too  firmly  convinced  of 
the  relative  merits  of  calyx  worm  con- 
trol with  dust  and  with  spray  gun  a 
series  of  exueriments  were  arranged  in 
1919  to  compare  the  merits  of  the  gun 
and  rod  in  an  orchard  which  had  been 
quite  wormy  for  several  years.  The 
orchard  which  was  chosen  for  this 
work  suffered  a  loss  of  20  to  30  per 
cent  damage  in  1918.  In  1917  the  loss 
was  even  greater.  In  the  spring  of 
1919  many  worms  were  found  on  the 
trunks  of  trees  so  there  was  no  doubt 
but  that  there  would  be  plenty  of  in- 
sects with  which  to  work.  Three  blocks 
were  chosen  through  the  center  of  the 
orchard.  One  was  sprayed  with  the 
gun  throughout  the  season  (experiment 
10).  Another  was  sprayed  with  twelve 
foot  rods  throughout  the  season  (exper- 


iment 11).  Experiment  9  gives  the  re- 
sults obtained  with  the  use  of  rods  in 
the  calyx  application,  guns  being  used 
for  the  other  sprays.  The  varieties  used 
in  the  tests  were  Jonathans,  Newtowns, 
and  Spitzenbergs.  The  trees  were  fif- 
teen years  of  age.  This  discussion,  pre- 
sented in  the  accompanying  table,  with 
the  exception  given,  includes  the  re- 
sults obtained  in  the  Spitzenberg  block 
only.  The  spray  was  applied  by  the 
owner  and  his  hired  man  under  the 
supervision  of  the  writer  who  followed 
behind  the  men  while  the  trees  were 
being  sprayed  in  each  application.  Two 
guns  were  used. 

This  experiment,  however,  included 
the  Newtown  variety  only.  The  un- 
sprayed checks  in  this  variety  showed  a 
much  lower  percentage  of  calyx  worms, 
which  naturally  influences  comparative 
ratios  given  in  the  table  on  a  3%  horse- 
power outfit  of  well  known  make. 
The  work  was  well  done  and  well  timed 
throughout  the  season.  Five  applica- 
tions of  arsenate  of  lead  were  used  dur- 
ing the  year;  the  last  one,  as  the  season 
finally  turned  out,  was  not  very  import- 
ant. A  summary  of  the  results  not  only 
show  that  the  gun  held  its  own  in  ob- 
taining codling  moth  control  but  gave 
better  control  than  the  rods  and  also 
where  the  rods  were  substituted  in  the 
calyx  application  that  the  calyx  cups 
might  be  filled.  The  check  trees  de- 
veloped an  infestation  of  53.6  per  cent; 
the  ratio  of  side  to  calyx  worms  was 
45.16  to  54.83  per  cent.  In  experiments 
9  and  10  (rods  in  the  calyx  and  guns 
in  other  applications)  the  percentage 
of  calyx  entrants  was  found  to  be  prac- 
tically the  same,  .34  and  .35  per  cent. 
The  ratio  of  side  to  calyx  worms  being 
85.74  to  14.28  per  cent  for  the  rods  and 
84.24  to  15.71  per  cent  for  the  guns.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  here  that  the  field 
control  obtained  by  the  owner  two 
rows  away  from  the  check  trees  ran 
.56  per  cent  wormy,  the  fruit  being 
checked  up  at  random  at  harvest  time. 
This  demonstrates  what  can  be  done 
in  a  badly  infested  orchard  in  a  season. 

Another  point  upon  which  there  is 
no  experimental  information  available 
is  the  matter  of  worm  control  in  the 
tops  of  large  trees  with  the  guns.  At 
picking  time  the  fruit  was  segregated 
in  the  different  experiments  in  lots 
from  the  ground  to  12  feet  and  from  12 
feet  to  the  tops  of  the  trees  (experiment 
12  and  13).  The  trees  in  question  were 
quite  tall,  considerable  fruit  occurring 
from  20  to  25  feet  from  the  ground.  Up 
to  a  height  of  20  feet  effective  control 
can  be  obtained,  above  this  point,  how- 
ever, effectiveness  rapidly  decreases. 
For  example,  in  one  tall  tree  123  apples 
(which  are  included  in  the  results  giv- 
en in  experiment  13)  were  picked  at  a 
heighth  of  25  to  28  feet  and  22  of  them 
were  found  to  be  wormy.  The  results 
indicate  that  calyx  worm  control  in 
the  lower  portion  of  the  tree  is  su- 
perior to  that  obtained  in  the  higher 
portions  of  the  trees,  yet  the  ratio  of 
calyx  control  does  not  fall  far  below 
that  of  the  average  condition.  In  this 
experiment  apples  taken  at  a  heighth  of 
12  feet  to  the  tops  of  the  trees  devel- 
oped 81.13  per  cent  side  worms  and 
18.86  per  cent  calyx  worms. 


From  figures  which  I  have  been  ac- 
cumulating it  appears  that  the  codling 
moth  is  inclined  to  deposit  more  eggs 
in  the  tops  of  the  trees  than  nearer  the 
ground.  It  is  quite  important  then  that 
the  fruit  should  either  not  be  grown  at 
that  heighth  or  should  be  very  well 
sprayed  in  order  to  reduce  worm  infes- 
tation to  the  minimum. 

The  poor  results  that  have  been  ob- 
tained with  the  spray  gun  are  not  due 
to  the  principal  involved  in  applying 
the  spray.  Unsatisfactory  control  can 
be  the  result  of  the  misuse  of  one  of 
three — or  perhaps  better — the  combin- 
ation of  three  misused  factors.  These 
are  poor  equipment,  poor  work  and 
irregularity  of  application.  Of  the  three 
factors  the  first  mentioned  is  probably 
the  most  important  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  use  of  the  gun.  The  other  two 
factors  are  contingent  upon  the  first. 
The  spray  gun  is  a  useless  accessory  on 
a  poor  spray  outfit.  It  is  little  better 
than  nothing  and  will  never  give  good 
results.  Our  up-to-date  3%  horse  power 
sprayers  are  indeed  too  small  to  handle 
two  guns  effectively,  they  will  handle 
one  in  good  shape.  A  machine  of  this 
power,  in  order  to  throw  a  spray  of  the 
proper  quality  must  maintain  a  pressure 
of  at  least  275  pounds.  In  the  experi- 
mental work  just  referred  to  (orchard 
No.  4,  table  X)  a  machine  of  this  char- 
acter was  used.  In  order  to  keep  the 
spray  in  proper  form  it  was  tuned  up 
and  punished  throughout  the  season. 
"When  you  begin  to  punish  a  gas  engine 
pump  trouble  begins,  and  the  owner 
of  this  machine  had  his  share.  This 
condition  of  affairs  existed  in  many  or- 
chards throughout  the  valley  and  was 
typical  of  no  particular  make  of  spray- 
er. A  spray  machine,  in  order  to  live 
the  life  that  it  should  and  at  the  same 
time  deliver  the  goods  must  have  a 
liberal  reserve.  A  machine  of  10  horse 
power  is  none  too  much.  Such  spray 
machines  are  now  coming  into  use  and 
it  will  be  only  a  question  of  a  very  few 
years  until  all  of  the  present  so-called 
modern  sprayers  will  go  into  the  dis- 
card. The  results  given  in  orchard  No. 
1,  table  VIII,  were  obtained  with  one 
of  these  larger  types  of  sprayers. 

The  gun  where  operated  with  small 
inferior  equipment  has  given  a  very 
poor  account  of  itself.  I  have  care- 
fully checked  up  the  results  obtained  in 
several  orchards  where  poor  equipment 
has  been  used.  The  growers  tried  to 
do  good  work  and  timed  their  applica- 
tion well.  Breakdowns  and  low  press- 
ure, which  is  usually  the  rule  when  a 
machine  is  not  working  right  has  led 
to  very  poor  results.  The  lower  fruits 
as  a  rule  came  through  the  season  in 
fairly  good  shape.  In  1918  in  one  of 
these  orchards  under  observation  the 
following  records  were  made.  Apples 
growing  below  12  feet  developed  a 
worm  infestation  of  3.55  per  cent. 
Apples  growing  between  12  feet  and 
the  tops  of  the  trees  developed  an  in- 
festation of  17.63  per  cent.  There  is 
only  one  explanation  for  this  condition 
and  that  is  the  fact  that  the  spray  was 
not  applied  properly  to  the  tops  of  the 
trees. 

Continued  on  page  38. 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  p 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  10 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  Ip20 


The  Department  of  Agriculture  Cold  Storage  Plant 

By  Lon  A.  Hawkins,  Plant  Physiologist,  Office  of  Horticultural  and  Pomological  Investigation,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 


THE  ever  increasing  demand  for 
foodstuffs  has  led  to  the  develop- 
ment of  various  methods  of  pre- 
serving and  storing  fruits  and  vege- 
tables in  season  for  use  when  fresh 
products  are  not  readily  obtainable. 
One  of  the  most  important  of  these 
methods  is  that  of  cold  storage,  that 
is,  the  storing  of  fruit  and  vegetables 
at  temperatures  low  enough  to  slow 
down  the  life  processes  but  not  in- 
hibit them.  By  such  treatment  the 
life  of  a  fruit  or  vegetable,  which 
might  be  only  one  or  two  weeks  after 
removal  from  the  plant,  may  be  length- 
ened to  several  months,  with  only 
slight  deterioration  in  its  food  value 
and  attractiveness. 

The  mechanical  phases  of  cold  stor- 
age, that  is,  the  means  of  producing 
and  regulating  low  temperatures,  are 
fairly  well  understood.  Much  less  is 
known,  however,  concerning  the  reac- 
tion of  the  various  kinds  and  varieties 
of  fruits  and  vegetables  to  low  temper- 
atures, though  considerable  experi- 
mental work  has,  of  necessity,  been 
done  by  commercial  cold  storages  to 
determine  the  best  temperatures  for 
the  keeping  of  produce. 

It  was  this  dearth  of  information  con- 
cerning the  effect  of  low  storage  temp- 
eratures on  fruits  and  vegetables  that 
led  the  office  of  Horticulture  and 
Pomology  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry to  plan  and  erect  a  cold  storage 
plant  to  be  used  for  experimental  work. 
This  plant  was  designed  with  rooms 
large  enough  to  give  approximately 
commercial  conditions  of  storage  but 
not  so  large  that  the  cost  of  operation 
and  equipment  for  experimental  pur- 
poses would  be  prohibitive.  The  plant 
was  designed  by  Mr.  S.  J.  Dennis,  a 
refrigerating  engineer  formerly  con- 
nected with  this  office. 


The  building  is  100  ft.  by  44  ft.  on 
the  outside  and  is  two  stories  high, 
being  22  ft.  from  the  top  of  the  first 
floor  to  the  plate.  The  exterior  of  the 
building  is  shown  in  figure  1.  The 
walls  and  floors  are  of  monolithic  con- 
crete. The  gable  roof  is  frame  covered 
with  fire  proof  shingles.  The  first 
floor  of  the  plant,  figure  2,  is  divided 
into  engine  room,  storage  space  and 
handling  room.  The  engine  room  is 
26x42  ft.  4  inches  inside,  with  an  office 
about  10x12  ft.  The  ammonia  compres- 
sion system  of  refrigeration  is  used  and 


large  tank  of  calcium  chloride  brine 
which  is  pumped  through  coils  in  the 
refrigerating  chambers  by  means  of  a 
motor  driven  centrifugal  pump.  A 
gasoline  engine  connected  to  a  two  and 
a  half  kilowatt  direct  current  generator 
furnishes  power  to  drive  the  brine 
pump  motor  in  case  of  interruption  of 
the  electric  service. 

The  storage  rooms  are  located  next  to 
the  engine  room.  They  are  arranged  in 
two  rows  of  four  rooms  each  (see  figure 
1)  and  open  out  into  the  insulated  and 
refrigerated  corridors  which  run  along 


Figure  1— View  of  the  experimental  cold  storage  plant. 


the  engine  room  is  equipped  with  two 
twelve-ton  belt  drive  vertical  ammonia 
compressors  run  by  25  horse,  slow 
speed  induction  motors.  A  forty  horse 
power  gasoline  engine  is  provided  for 
auxiliary  power  in  case  of  accident  to 
the  electric  equipment.  Refrigeration 
is  by  circulating  brine.  The  ammonia 
expansion   coils   are   immersed   in  a 


both  sides  of  the  building.  The  rooms 
are  about  8x14  ft.  by  11  ft.  7  in.  high 
over  all,  furnishing  in  round  numbers 
1300  ft.  of  space.  The  rooms  are  insu- 
lated with  insulation  made  up  of  flax 
fiber,  mineral  wool  and  a  binder.  Four 
inches  of  insulation  were  laid  on  the 
outside  corridor  walls  and  the  same  on 
Continued  on  page  36. 


Figure  2 — First  floor  plan  of  experimental  cold  storage  plant,  showing  engine  room,  refrigeration  chambers,  unfinished  refrigeration  space 

and  handling  room. 


April,  IQ20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  1 


How  S-W  Dry   Powdered  Arsenate 
of  Lead  was  tested  for  Superiority 


69.00        3.13  2.69  2.45  2.40  1.78  1.78  1.63 

Unsprayed  Sprayed  with  S-W 

Arsenate  of  Lead 

69.00%  Wormy  Fruit  Reduced  to  1.63% 

IN  an  Oregon  orchard  the  County  Path-  of  trees  were  used.   Two  rows  were  left 

ologist  conducted  a  general  insecticide  entirely  unsprayed,  two  were  sprayed 

test  in  a  12  year  old  Newton  orchard  with  Sherwin-Williams  Dry  Powdered 

near  Phoenix.    It  was  a  year  of  serious  Arsenateof  Lead,  and  the  remaining  rows 

Coddling  Moth  infection.    Sixteen  rows  were  sprayed  with  other  insecticides. 

2  Unsprayed  Rows  showed  69.00%  Wormy  Fruit 
2  Sherwin-Williams  Rows  only  1.63%  Wormy  Fruit 


At  the  end  of  the  season  the  two  unsprayed  rows 
showed  69'^  wormy  fruit;  the  Sherwin-Williams 
Rows  only  1.63%;  and  the  other  insecticides  ranged 
upto3.139^'. 

This  test  proved  the  great  value  of  spraying,  and 

Better  Working  Qualities 

S-W  Dry  Powdered  Arsenate  of  Lead  possesses  maximum 
lightness  and  fluffiness.  This  results  in  maximum  suspension, 
distribution  and  adhesiveness.  It  contains  from  3  0  to  33% 
arsenic  oxide,  and  less  than  I'^i  water  soluble  arsenic.  These 
properties  and  proportions  assume  maximum  killing,  without 
danger  of  injury  to  foliage  or  fruit.    It  works  effectively  on 


while  it  developed  three  good  sprays,  it  also  proved 
that  Sherwin-Williams  Dry  Powdered  Arsenate  of 
Lead  is  the  most  effective  control  of  moth  in  pre- 
venting wormy  fruit.  (Copy  of  letter  from  County 
Pathologist  sent  on  request.) 

all  fruits  and  vegetables  as  a  liquid  spray  or  in  the  form  of  a 
dust.  It  also  combines  effectively  with  S-W  Dry  Powdered 
Lime  Sulfur  as  a  summer  spray. 

Save  15c.  flight  now,  just  10c  a:'///  bring  you  the'^new 
25c  Revised  Sprayer^s  Manual.  Address  The  Sherwin- 
Williams  Co.,  602  Canal  Road,  IV.  W.,  Cleveland,'Ohio. 


Sherwin-  Williams 

Products 


PAINTS  AND  VARNISHES,  DYESTVFFS 
PIGMENTS,  CHEMICALS 


FilS 


IHSECTICIDES,  COLORS,  DISINFECTANTS 
AND    WOOD  PRESERVATIVES 


WHEN  WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  12 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  1^20 


Planting  and  Cultivating  the  Loganberry 


By  Britt  Aspinwall 


LOGANBERRIES  are  started  from 
plants  obtained  by  tipping  the  old 
vines  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  The 
selection  of  plants  in  setting  out  a  new 
yard  is  very  essential,  as  a  poor  plant 
will  make  a  weak  vine,  which  will 
seldom,  if  ever,  make  much  of  a  growth 
or  amount  to  anything. 

"We  set  our  plants  eight  feet  apart 
each  way  and  cultivate  them  both  ways 
during  the  first  summer.  This  requires 
about  680  plants  to  the  acre.  Before 
setting  them  out  the  land  should  be 
put  in  first-class  condition,  then  mark 
the  ground  both  ways  and  take  out  a 
good  shovelful  of  dirt  for  each  plant, 
packing  the  loose  dirt  in  around  the 
roots  with  the  hands  so  as  to  have 
them  spread  out  as  evenly  as  possible 
and  keep  them  from  drying  out.  We 
usually  plant  from  the  25th  of  March 
to  the  middle  of  April,  according  to  the 
season  and  the  condition  of  the  land. 
After  the  plants  are  set  out  they  should 
be  worked  well  each  week  or  ten  days 
during  the  summer  with  a  disc  harrow, 
springtooth  and  clodmasher  to  keep  the 
ground  loose  and  keep  a  dust  mulch 
on  the  surface. 

The  vines  will  not  make  very  much 
growth  till  about  August,  when  they 
will  begin  to  shoot  out  over  the  ground, 
and  it  will  be  necessary  to  turn  them 
lengthwise  of  the  rows  and  work  the 
land  only  one  way.  At  this  time  the 
holes  should  be  dug  and  the  posts  set 
out  for  the  trellis.  We  use  good  cedar 
posts,  putting  them  not  over  thirty-two 
feet  apart  in  the  row  and  two  feet  in 
the  ground.  This  makes  a  trellis  five 
feet  high.  Anchor  the  end  posts  good, 
as  there  will  be  a  heavy  strain  on  the 
wires  when  they  are  filled  with  ripe 


fruit.  We  use  three  No.  12  galvanized 
wires  for  the  trellis,  putting  the  top 
wire  on  top  of  the  posts  and  the  bot- 
tom one  about  20  inches  from  the 
ground.  In  October  the  vines  should 
be  trained  upon  the  trellis,  spreading 
them  out  evenly  so  as  to  cover  all  the 
space  possible  and  avoid  bunches.  It 
will  be  necessary  to  wind  them  around 
the  wires  but  not  too  tight,  and  the 
top  wire  will  carry  the  most  weight. 
If  more  plants  are  wanted,  train  the 
vines  over  the  wires  with  the  ends 
down  to  the  ground,  and  cover  them 
3  or  4  inches  deep  about  the  first  to 
the  middle  of  October.  They  will  take 
root  in  the  fall  and  winter  and  make 
good  plants  by  the  next  March.  We 
put  ours  down  in  this  way  and  each 
year  ship  thousands  of  plants  to  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  where  they 
can  be  grown. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  plow  the 
ground,  throwing  the  dirt  toward  the 
rows,  and  leave  it  in  this  condition  till 
spring.  In  the  spring,  as  soon  as  the 
ground  is  in  good  condition  to  work, 
plow  the  dirt  away  from  the  hills, 
plowing  very  shallow  closest  to  the 
rows  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  roots.  A 
vineyard  plow  is  best  for  plowing  the 
last  two  furrows,  as  one  can  get  closer 
to  the  rows  and  between  the  hills  with- 
out injuring  the  roots.  It  is  a  good 
plan  to  harrow  close  behind  the  plow 
if  the  weather  is  at  all  dry.  This  may 
be  done  either  by  hand  or  with  a  horse 
hoe.  After  hoeing  them  in  good  shape, 
which  should  be  done  soon  after  plow- 
ing, take  a  disc  harrow  and  throw  the 
dirt  back  to  the  rows,  but  be  careful 
not  to  ridge  them  too  much  in  the  row, 
as  it  has  a  tendency  to  raise  the  roots 


out  of  the  ground.  They  should  be 
worked  with  a  spring-tooth  harrow,  or 
something  similar,  and  a  clodmasher 
every  week  or  ten  days  during  the  sum- 
mer and  up  into  July.  When  the  new 
shoots  start  in  the  spring  they  should 
be  trained  up  in  the  center  of  the  hills, 
allowing  them  to  stick  out  over  the 
wires  unless  they  get  too  long,  when 
they  will  have  to  be  turned  back.  Never 
thin  out  any  of  the  vines  unless  they 
get  thick  in  the  hills,  as  it  is  apt  to 
bleed  the  roots.  I  prefer  not  to  trim  off 
the  ends  of  the  vines  as  we  cannot  see 
that  they  raise  any  larger  berries,  but 
fewer  of  them  than  when  left  as  they 
naturally  grow. 

The  picking  season  starts  in  from  the 
middle  of  June  to  the  first  of  July,  and 
usually  lasts  about  six  weeks.  It  re- 
quires about  four  or  five  good  pickers 
to  the  acre.  As  soon  as  we  are  through 
picking  we  cut  out  the  old  vines  and 
train  up  the  new  ones,  throwing  the 
old  ones  between  the  rows,  and  cutting 
them  up  with  a  sharp  disc  harrow  so 
they  can  easily  be  plowed  under  and 
serve  as  fertilizer.  Loganberries  should 
yield  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  a 
crop  the  next  year  after  being  set  out, 
and  thereafter  a  full  crop.  An  average 
crop  is  from  four  to  five  tons  of  fresh 
fruit  to  the  acre,  although  they  some- 
times yield  as  much  as  six  and  one- 
half  tons  on  good,  rich  land.  It  re- 
quires five  and  one-half  pounds  of  fresh 
fruit  to  make  one  of  evaporated. 


UNQUESTIONABLY  

C  Modern  methods  applied 
to  fruit  growing  have  made 
the  Northwest  a  great  fruit 
growing  center,  with  possi- 
biHties  of  extensive  develop- 
ment. 

<L  Modern  methods  applied 
to  banking  have  made  the 
FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK 
pre-eminently  the  ally  of  the 
horticulturist.  Its  faciHties, 
service  and  the  personal  in- 
terest of  its  officers  are  at 
your  disposal. 


THE  FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK 

OF    PORTLAND  OREGON 

fii  THE  FIRST  •  NATIONAL-  BANK  WEST  Mk 
e^aSNS  OF    THE     ROCKY     MOUNTAINS  e^%«SN» 


Harvesting  the  loganberry  crop  on  the  Aspinwall  place  near  Brooks,  Oregon. 


Fruit  trees  budded  from  bearing  orch- 
ards. Apple,  Pear,  Cherrj',  Peach,  Plum, 
Prune,  Apricot,  Quince,  Grape  Vines, 
Shrubbery,  Plants,  Raspberries,  Black- 
berries, Logans,  Dewberries,  Asparagus, 
Rhubarb,  Flowering  Shrubs,  Roses, 
Vines,  Hedge,  Nut  and  Shade  Trees. 
Carriage  paid.  Satisfaction  guaranteed. 

WASHINGTON  NURSERY  CO. 

Toppenish,  Washing-ton. 

Salesmen  everywhere.     More  wanted. 


April,  ip2o  BETTER  FRUIT  P'-se  13 

Temperatures  Which  Will  Damage  or  Kill  Fruit  Buds 

By  F.  L.  West  and  N.  E.  Edlefsen,  of  the  Utah  Agricultural  College  Experiment  Station,  Logan,  Utah 


EXPERIMENTS  conducted  at  the 
Utah  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  to  determine  the  tempera- 
tures at  which  fruit  buds  receive  injury 
from  being  frozen,  are  both  valuable 
and  interesting.  These  experiments 
were  undertaken  to  assist  growers  in 
frost  susceptible  districts  in  the  use 
of  heaters  in  their  orchards  and  also  to 
know  the  drop  in  temperature  neces- 
sary to  cause  the  lighting  of  the  heat- 
ers. Apart,  however,  from  the  value 
of  this  knowledge  to  the  grower  who 
may  use  heaters  it  is  valuable  to  every 
grower  to  know  what  degree  of  frost 
will  damage  or  kill  fruit  buds. 

During  the  first  two  years  that  this 
work  was  being  carried  on  the  experi- 
ments consisted  in  removing  branches 
from  fruit  trees  and  subjecting  them  to 
freezing  temperatures  in  the  laboratory. 
The  damage  done  was  then  noted  by 
counting  the  buds  that  had  turned  black 
and  also  the  ones  that  were  unaffected, 
and  thus  calculating  the  percentage  of 
the  buds  that  were  damaged.  As  this 
method  did  not  give  sufficiently  definite 
results,  an  apparatus  was  made  for 
freezing  the  entire  tree.  The  yields  of 
the  trees  subjected  to  freezing  tempera- 
tures were  noted  at  harvest  time  after 
the  buds  on  them  had  been  checked  up 
at  the  time  of  the  freezing  or  shortly 
thereafter. 

The  apparatus  for  freezing  the  trees 
consisted  of  two  double-walled  half 
cylinders  made  of  galvanized  iron  fast- 
ened to  a  wooden  base  that  was  put  on 
runners,  by  means  of  which  the  appa- 
ratus could  be  moved  by  block  and 
tackle  or  team  from  tree  to  tree.  The 
cylinders  were  six  feet  high  and  six 
feet  in  diameter  in  the  clear.  Four 
inches  of  space  was  allowed  for  the 
ice  and  salt.  When  the  iron  cover  was 
in  place,  ice  and  salt  were  spread  over 
it  and  then  canvas  thrown  over  the 
whole  to  keep  the  heat  out. 

As  the  ice  and  salt  took  the  tempera- 
ture down,  thermometers  projecting 
through  the  sides  showed  the  operator 
the  approximate  temperature  inside  the 
vessel.  The  temperature  was  modified 
by  forcing  varying  quantities  of  air  in 
at  the  temperature  desired.  This  cur- 
rent of  aiy,  together  with  an  electrically 
driven  fan  kept  the  temperature  about 
the  tree  uniform  to  within  a  degree. 
Four  standard  minimum  thermometers 
were  hung  at  various  elevations  on  the 
tree  giving  us  accurately  the  minimum 
temperature  attained  and  a  thermo- 
graph also  supported  in  the  tree  traced 
out  the  temperature  changes  as  it  cooled 
and  then  warmed  up  when  the  vessel 
was  opened  up,  thereby  giving  us  the 
rate  of  cooling  and  thawing.  With  this 
equipment  trees  were  subjected  to 
temperatures  as  low  as  12  degrees  Fahr- 
enheit and  by  increasing  the  percent- 
age of  salt  there  is  no  doubt  that  tem- 
peratures still  lower  could  be  obtained. 

In  making  these  experiments  check 
trees  of  the  same  size  and  kind  with 
approximately  the  same  number  of  buds 
and  located  near  the  frozen  trees  were 


selected.  After  the  freeze,  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  buds  were  cut  open 
to  observe  the  discoloration  and  the 
same  percentage  were  destroyed  on  the 
check  trees  so  that  both  trees  were 
thinned  equally.  The  yields  of  both 
trees  were  observed  in  the  fall.  To 
note  whether  it  made  any  difference 
when  the  buds  were  examined,  they 
were  cut  open  immediately  after  the 
freeze  and  then  at  varying  intervals 
afterward. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  make  a  little 
study  of  the  theory  of  the  injury  to 
fruit  buds  due  to  freezing. 

\^'^len  plant  tissue  freezes  water 
passes  out  of  the  cells  and  ice  forms 
in  the  intercellular  space.  It  has  been 
found  that  if  the  thawing  is  done  slowly 
enough  when  working  with  tender 
plants,  such  as  lettuce  and  matured 
fruits,  the  water  will  gradually  pass 
back  into  the  cells,  and  if  the  original 
freeze  did  not  rupture  the  cell  wall, 
the  plant  has  suffered  little  harm  from 
the  ice  formation.  If,  however,  the 
thawing  is  done  rapidly,  the  water  does 
not  get  back  into  the  cells  and  they  die 
due  to  drying  out.  We  must  have  then 
either  a  rupturing  of  the  cell  wall  when 
the  ice  is  formed  or  else  ice  formation 
and  in  many  cases  rapid  thawing  in 
order  to  kill  the  tissue. 

Pure  water  freezes  at  32  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  When  substances  are  dis- 
solved in  it,  the  water  freezes  at  a  lower 
temperature,  the  amount  of  lowering  of 
the  freezing  point  depending  on  how 
much  material  is  dissolved  in  it,  and  on 
the  nature  of  the  substance  that  goes 
into  solution.  For  example,  a  five  per 
cent  salt  solution  freezes  at  27  degrees 
F.,  while  a  thirty  per  cent  sugar  solu- 
tion only  freezes  at  29  degrees  F.  W. 
H.  Chandler  measured  the  freezing  tem- 
perature of  the  juice  that  he  extracted 
from  twigs  taken  from  various  kinds 
of  fruit  trees  and  found  that  on  an  aver- 


age the  sap  froze  at  from  28  to  29  de- 
grees F.  and  in  no  case  did  it  freeze 
below  28  degrees  F.  The  sap  from 
Elberta  peach  twigs  extracted  in  March 
froze  at  28.7  degrees  F.,  while  but  two- 
thirds  of  the  twigs  of  the  same  kind  of 
fruit  when  subjected  in  March  to  a 
temperature  of  as  low  as  10  degrees  F. 
froze. 

In  the  orchard  it  is  frequently  found 
that  some  of  the  buds  withstand  tem- 
peratures as  low  as  20  degrees  F.  and 
mature,  and  these  buds  no  doubt  take 
up  these  low  temperatures  as  the  work 
of  W^iegend  shows. 

Fruit  buds  have  a  protective  cover- 
ing over  them  supposedly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  checking  evaporation,  but  this 
is  not  sufficient  to  keep  them  for  any 
appreciable  length  of  time  at  tempera- 
tures different  from  the  surroundings. 
Wiegend  found  as  a  result  of  experi- 
menting with  horse-chestnut  buds  con- 
taining thermometers  which  he  sealed 
inside  of  them,  that  when  these  buds 
were  subjected  suddenly  to  a  change 
in  temperature  of  20  degrees  or  more, 
in  about  ten  minutes  they  had  taken  on 
the  new  temperature  to  within  two  de- 
grees, and  had  arrived  completely  at  the 
new  point  in  a  half  hour.  In  case  of 
the  natural  freezes  in  the  orchard, 
where  the  temperature  is  falling  slowly 
from  sundown  until  sunrise,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  the  fruit  buds  take  on 
the  resulting  temperatures  of  the  sur- 
rounding air.  In  artificial  freezing 
therefore  it  should  not  take  long  for 
the  buds  to  acquire  the  new  tempera- 
ture, especially  if  they  are  in  full  bloom 
and  when  they  are  smaller  than  the 
buds  used  in  the  experiment  reported 
above. 

As  was  mentioned  earlier,  the  more 
concentrated  the  aqueous  solution  the 
lower  is  its  freezing  point  and  in  gen- 
eral the  amount  of  the  substance,  espe- 
cially if  it  be  an  organic  one,  that  will 


Apparatus  used  in  freezing  entire  tree  in  experiments  made  at  the  Utah  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station,  to  determine  the  temperatures  at  which  fruit  buds  are  damaged 

by  frost. 


Page  14 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  IQ20 


dissolve  in  water  is  but  slightly  affected 
by  the  substances  that  are  already  in 
solution.  This  allows  the  possibility 
of  a  very  concentrated  solution,  and 
each  of  these  substances  has  its  influ- 
ence in  lowering  the  freezing  point  of 
the  water  largely  independent  of  the 
others.  For  these  reasons,  rather  a 
low  freezing  point  of  a  solution  is  pos- 
sible. A  very  concentrated  juice,  there- 
fore, in  the  buds  would  be  expected  to 
freeze  at  a  fairly  low  temperature.  In 
spite  of  this,  however,  the  unusual  hardi- 
ness of  some  buds  to  freezing  is  really 
surprising.  The  difference  in  sensitive- 
ness to  cold  of  different  buds  on  the 
same  branch  and  of  the  same  buds  at 
different  stages  of  development  may  be 
in  part  due  to  the  difference  in  quality 
and  concentration  of  the  cell  sap. 

When  liquids  are  cooled  to  their 
freezing  points,  if  there  be  none  of  the 
solid  material  present,  they  rarely 
freeze.  They  may  be  cooled  further 
several  degrees  and  kept  for  days  with- 
out solidification  taking  place.  The  in- 
troduction of  as  small  an  amount  of  the 
solid  as  one-hundred-thousandth  part 
of  a  milligram  is  sufficient  to  cause 
freezing  to  commence.  Enough  solid 
will  now  separate  out  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  the  whole  to  the  melting 
point.  The  temperature  now  remains 
constant,  and  at  the  melting  point  until 
all  of  the  liquid  has  become  solid,  the 
heat  that  is  being  lost  by  radiation  be- 
ing supplied  by  the  heat  that  is  always 
evolved  when  liquids  solidify.  In  su- 
perfused  liquids  that  have  not  been  in- 
occulated,  crystalline  nuceli  make  their 
appearance  spontaneously  at  different 
points  in  the  liquid  and  then  begin  to 
grow.  The  chance  of  these  nuclei  ap- 
pearing increases  with  the  quantity  of 
liquid  present  and  it  has  been  found 
experimentally  that  liquids  may  be 
cooled  far  below  their  freezing  points 
and  maintained  at  these  low  tempera- 
tures for  long  times  when  they  are  kepi 
in  capillary  tubes.  In  these  tubes  the 
rate  at  which  these  nuclei  form  and 
grow  is  sufficiently  slow  to  be  mea- 
sured. The  rate  of  growth  is  approxi- 
mately proportional  to  the  degree  of 
superfusion  when  that  degree  is  not 
very  great  and  the  number  of  nuclei 
formed  in  a  given  volume  in  a  given 
time  at  first  increases  with  the  degree 
of  superfusion,  but  afterwards  reaches 
a  maximum,  and  begins  to  diminish  as 
the  liquid  becomes  highly  superfused. 
Liquids  that  have  been  very  suddenly 
cooled  far  below  their  freezing  points 
have  been  kept  for  months  without 
freezing.  The  juice  of  the  buds  is  con- 
fined in  small  capillary  spaces  and  the 
above  mentioned  phenomena  will  help 
to  explain  in  part  the  unusual  hardiness 
of  the  buds  and  the  great  difference  in 
hardiness  of  buds  that  appear  to  be 
very  similar  because  they  may  thus  be 
cooled  below  their  freezing  points  and 
warmed  again  without  ice  forming. 

A  reading  of  the  popular  literature 
on  the  subject  is  likely  to  cause  one  to 
infer  that  buds  have  a  certain  freezing 
temperature,  and  that  when  they 
arrive  at  this  temperature  they  all 
freeze.  This,  of  course,  is  wide  of 
the  truth.    There  is  a  range  of  four 


or  five  degrees  between  the  highest 
temperature  at  which  two  or  three  per 
cent  of  the  buds  are  injured,  and  the 
temperature  at  which  all  the  buds  are 
killed.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
on  the  same  branch  are  often  found 
buds  that  have  swollen  but  slightly 
when  others  are  in  full  bloom.  A  freeze 
or  two  in  the  early  spring  will  usually 
do  no  harm;  they  simply  serve  to  thin 
the  buds  out,  for  it  is  generally  known 
that  there  are  many  more  buds  on  the 
tree  than  actually  mature  into  fruit. 
The  number  that  can  be  allowed  to 
freeze  without  heating  the  orchard  will 
naturally  depend  on  how  many  there 
happen  to  be  on  the  tree  at  that  particu- 
lar time.  It  is  very  rare  that  a  tree  has 
so  few  buds  on  it  that  it  cannot  lose 
one-half  of  them  and  yet  mature  an 
average  crop  in  the  fall.  Where  we 
have  endeavored  to  select  a  critical 
temperature  we  have  taken  it  as  near 
as  possible  to  the  point  where  not  more 
than  50  per  cent  of  the  buds  will  be 
killed  by  experiencing  the  cold  men- 
tioned. 

__Some  of  the  more  important  conclu- 
sions which  will  be  of  interest  to  the 
orchardist,  arrived  at  by  these  experi- 
ments are  as  follows: 

To  kill  plant  tissue  by  freezing,  either 
the  cell  wall  must  be  ruptured  when 
ice  forms,  or  else  after  the  ice  forms, 
it  must  thaw  rapidly.  An  occasional 
case  of  ice  formation  and  slow  thawing 
without  death  resulting  to  the  tissue 
has  been  observed. 

Fruit  buds  will  stand  a  lower  temper- 
ature by  several  degrees  than  the  freez- 
ing point  of  the  expressed  sap,  and  the 
sap  freezes  at  three  or  four  degrees  be- 
low the  freezing  point  of  pure  water. 

The  literature  on  the  subject  might 
lead  one  to  infer  that  the  buds  have  a 
definite  freezing  point  and  that  when 
the  orchard  reaches  this  temperature, 
practically  all  of  the  buds  are  frozen 
and  the  crop  for  that  year  is  to  be  a 
failure.  This  is  not  the  case.  The  or- 
chard can  usually  stand  two  or  three 
freezes  without  losing  more  than  half 
of  its  buds,  and  this  number  is  usually 
sufficient  for  a  normal  crop. 

It  doesn't  make  any  difference,  in  the 
first  two  or  three  days,  as  to  when  the 
injury  to  the  buds  by  direct  observa- 
tion of  them  is  determined. 

The  further  developed  the  buds  are, 
the  more  sensitive  they  are  to  frost. 

There  is  a  range  of  at  least  five  de- 


grees Fahrenheit  between  the  tempera- 
ture at  which  only  about  five  per  cent 
of  the  buds  are  damaged  and  the  tem- 
perature that  will  kill  all  of  them. 

In  the  case  of  Double  Nattie  cherries 
when  the  fruit  is  setting,  29  degrees 
Fahrenheit  caused  no  damage  and  24 
degrees  killed  practically  all  of  them. 

With  Jonathan  apple  blossoms  in  full 
bloom,  28.5  degrees  Fahrenheit  caused 
no  damage  and  24  degrees  killed  about 
half  of  them. 

Prune  buds  are  slightly  hardier  than 
those  of  the  other  kinds  of  fruit  that  we 
tested. 

The  temperatures  which  will  kill 
about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  buds  of  the 
Elberta  peach  are  as  follows:  When 
they  are  slightly  swollen,  14  degrees; 
when  well  swollen,  18  degrees;  when 
they  are  showing  pink  24  degrees;  when 
in  full  bloom  25  degrees;  and  when 
the  fruit  is  setting,  28  degrees  Fahr- 
enheit. 


BEST  SERVICE  - 
QUALITY  a  PRICES 

/  perfection  in  \ 


/  PERFECTION  IN  > 

(FRUIT 
ULABELS 


Simpson  a  DoELLER  Co. 


MEhU-  .    IORGAN  i 

It 

iRS-STOCK  LABt 
.CHERRIE? 


HOOD  RIVER  ORCHARD 

One  of  Hood  River's  show  places  for  sale.  Thirty-three  acres,  all  under 
irrigation;  22  acres  in  18-year-old  apples,  mostly  Spitzenberg  and  Newtown, 
with  some  Ortley  and  Jonathan;  4  acres  in  alfalfa.  Regular  producer,  mak- 
ing good  money.  In  the  heart  of  the  Pine  Grove  district,  6  miles  from  town 
on  the  new  Mt.  Hood  loop.  Local  railroad  stops  on  the  place. 

Exceptionally  beautiful  homesite.  Ten-room  modern  house  with  every 
convenience  except  an  electric  elevator.  Spring  water  under  pressure  and 
electricity  in  all  buildings.  Barn  and  packing  house,  tenant  house,  family 
orchard,  gardens,  grapes,  strawberries,  asparagus,  equipment — everything. 

Bank's  appraiser  puts  the  place  at  $40,000.   Sell  for  $25,000  with  terms. 

My  only  reason  for  selling  is  that  I  want  funds  for  development  of  my 
other  100-acre  place.  Write     p^^p^  p^^^^  ^  p  p  ^  pj^^^  Q^gg^„ 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


^prii,T9-'o  BETTER  FRUIT 

Problems  in  Marketing  Northwest  Prunes 


A  Criticism,  But  Not  A  Knock 


Editor  Better  Fruit: 

STATEMENTS  have  been  appearing 
in  the  press  of  late  in  regard  to 
the  uncertainty  of  marketing  Oregon 
prunes  and  also  that  reports  from  the 
East  are  to  the  effect  that  California 
prunes  are  selling  for  3  cents  a  pound 
more  than  the  Italian  variety  grown 
in  Oregon  and  Washington.  I  wish, 
therefore  to  say  a  few  words  about  the 
marketing  of  Northwest  prunes  and  al- 
though prune  men  in  this  section  may 
not  take  kindly  to  what  I  say  I  assure 
you  that  my  interest  in  the  prune  in- 
dustry of  the  Northwest  is  sincere  from 
a  standpoint  of  pride  as  well  as  because 
of  the  financial  phase;  nor  do  I  want 
to  appear  pessimistic,  but  there  are 
some  plain  facts  that  should  be  known 
to  every  prune  grower  and  packer  in 
Oregon  and  Washington. 

There  was  no  mistake  made  in  plant- 
ing prune  orchards  as  a  commercial 
industry  nor  was  it  a  mistake  in  plant- 
ing the  variety  that  prevails  in  the 
Northwest,  but  there  has  been  a  con- 
tinual disregard  of  care  in  curing  and 
preparing  for  the  market. 

WTien  our  orchards  first  began  to 
bear  in  quantities  for  other  markets, 
packing  facilities  were  limited;  knowl- 
edge of  how  to  handle  them  was  lack- 
ing, so  they  were  graded,  put  into  sacks 
and  forwarded  East. 

The  very  nature  of  the  Italian  prune 
is  such  that  it  is  impossible  to  handle  it 
with  any  degree  of  satisfaction  and 
safety  in  bags.  This  fact  was  soon 
discovered  by  the  buyer  after  sustain- 
ing some  substantial  losses  from  re- 
jections. Sales  were  hard  to  make.  The 
growers  took  a  hand  in  shipping  them- 
selves, but  finding  in  some  instances 
that  they  were  called  on  to  pay  freight, 
aside  from  losing  their  fruit,  they  too 
were  sorely  disappointed.  Something 
had  to  be  done — so  the  method  of  pro- 
cessing was  adopted;  packing  them  in 
25  and  50  pound  boxes,  eliminating 
almost  entirely  shipping  in  sacks.  Since 
that  time,  which  dates  back  about  15 
years,  some  progress  has  been  made  but 
we  are  far  short  yet  of  marketing  a 
satisfactory,  safe  pack  of  prunes. 

The  nature  of  the  Italian  prune  is 
such  that  it  must  be  processed  in  order 
to  assure  the  dealer  a  commercial  pack- 
age that  he  can  handle  safely  and  a 
product  that  the  consumer  will  buy. 

I  am  not  going  to  tell  you  how  to  dry 
prunes,  because  I  don't  know,  but  I 
do  know  that  there  has  been  a  large 
tonnage  of  inferior  prunes  put  on  the 
market  each  year.  Lots  of  them  should 
have  been  condemned  and  destroyed. 
No  one  has  the  right  to  pick  up  and 
dry  decayed  prunes;  some  that  have 
split  and  the  cracks  full  of  mould; 
others  that  have  decayed  from  over- 
ripeness.  Such  fruit  is  positively  unfit 
for  food.  The  consumer  does  not  know 
it,  as  its  defects  are  covered  up  in  the 
process  of  drying.  It  is  even  difficult 
for  the  packer  to  detect  the  imperfec- 
tions; probably  some  packers  do  not 
look  for  them,  so  they  are  bought, 


packed  and  shipped  East  and  to  Europe. 
Frequently  they  look  all  right  when 
they  arrive. 

When  under-cured  and  over-pro- 
cessed fruit  starts  up  fermentation  or 
mould,  lots  of  it  spoils  on  the  dealer's 
hands  and  it  is  sold  at  reduced  prices 
to  the  consumer.  It  is  positively  unfit 
to  eat  and  is  not  liked  and  many  times 
no  reason  is  given  for  this  dislike.  Nor 
does  the  consumer  actually  know  what 
is  wrong,  but  I  assure  you  that  a  trial 
of  such  fruit  is  enough.  I  will  match 
with  big  odds  an  Italian  prune  against 
any  other  food  product,  either  dried  or 
in  cans,  for  covering  up  its  dirt,  imper- 
fections and  filth.  I  can  take  a  sound, 
properly  cured  prune  and  put  it  by  the 
side  of  one  that  is  partially  decayed 
and  dried  and  one  looks  about  as  good 
as  the  other,  but  cook  them  and  try 


Page  13 

them  out  by  taste  and  the  difference 
is  noticeable — distinctly  so.  One  is 
either  rancid  or  sour  and  very  repul- 
sive, while  the  other  has  a  sweet  tart 
taste  and  is  the  most  delicious  dried 
fruit  to  be  had.  A  well  cured,  well 
cooked  Italian  Prune  served  in  its  juice 
or  with  cream  is  in  a  class  of  its  own — 
nothing  to  compare  with  it  in  the  dried 
fruit  line. 

I  wish  every  one  of  you  could  have 
been  with  me  on  a  trip  East  recently, 
when  I  called  on  the  jobbing  trade  in 
nearly  every  large  commercial  center.  A 
portion  of  my  time  was  given  to  inves- 
tigating the  situation  as  to  Oregon  and 
Washington  prunes.  I  was  more  than 
disappointed;  in  fact,  greatly  humili- 
ated— there  were  several  thousand 
boxes  of  the  previous  year's  crop  in  the 
New  York  market.  They  had  rotted 
and  moulded  and  had  been  worked  over 
and  were  selling  at  50  to  75  cents  per 
box  of  25  pounds.  "Oregon  prunes  have 


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WHEN    WRITING   .\DVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  1 6 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  Ip20 


a  black  eye  in  this  market,"  I  heard 
everywhere  I  went.  "How  about  orders 
for  this  season's  crop?"  "If  they  are 
cheap  enough,  we  will  try  a  few  again," 
was  the  answer  I  received. 

I  have  been  in  Oregon  25  years;  I 
love  the  State;  I  am  proud  of  it  and  I 
hold  the  highest  regard  for  its  resources. 
On  my  trip  when  talking  with  others 
I  met  in  hotels,  on  the  trains  or  in  the 
business  houses,  I  took  great  pride  in 
telling  them  of  our  lumber  industry, 
our  grain,  apples,  and  dairy  products. 
I  want  to  feel  as  proud  of  our  prune 
industry  as  of  these. 


We  have  produced  in  the  last  few 
years  about  125  million  pounds  of  dried 
prunes.  During  the  same  period,  Cali- 
fornia has  produced  many  more  million 
pounds.  Our  packing  facilities  and 
selling  ability  are  far  greater  per  ton 
than  California.  Now  with  the  small 
tonnage  and  ample  marketing  resources, 
our  fruit  has  gone  to  the  consumer 
at  a  much  less  price  than  theirs. 
This  fact  is  evidence  that  something  is 
wrong.  It's  true  that  the  general  de- 
mand is  for  a  sweet  prune.  It's  also 
true  that  there  is  a  demand  for  a  tart 
prune  and  this  section  grows  them. 

I  want  to  make  it  clear  to  you  that 
something  must  be  done  immediately. 
The  prune  acreage  is  increasing  materi- 
ally, both  here  and  in  California. 
France,  Bosnia  and  Servia  are  factors 
in  the  industry.  I  predict  that  unless 
our  fruit  is  cured  and  packed  so  as  to 
increase  the  demand,  you  will  see  some 
pretty  cheap  prunes  within  three  years. 

I  will  admit  that  the  Italian  prune  is 
more  difficult  to  cure  and  pack  than  a 
sweet  variety.  It  can  be  done;  it  has 
been  done,  but  enough  poor  fruit  has 
gone  out  to  prevent  progress  for  the  past 
five  years.  If  every  dryer  in  the  North- 
west had  taken  from  his  orchards  only 
sound,  ripe  fruit  and  cured  it  properly, 
then  properly  processed  it,  we  would 
not  have  half  enough  prunes  to  supply 
the  demand  and  at  as  good  a  price  per 
pound  as  any  district  in  the  world  gets. 

We  will  never  succeed  as  long  as  half 
ripe,  split,  mouldy  and  decayed  fruit  is 


WHEN    WRITING   ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


dried  and  then  possibly  not  packed 
properly. 

The  manufacturer  or  any  one  pro- 
ducing or  preparing  anything  for  food, 
who  has  not  observed  the  rapid  growth 
of  sanitation  and  marked  development 
of  cleanliness  in  the  past  few  years,  is 
falling  far  short  of  the  times.  People 
are  particular  about  what  they  eat  and 
they  are  going  to  be  far  more  so  in  the 
future.  Laws  are  doing  much  in  this 
respect;  a  campaign  of  education  for 
better,  cleaner  food  is  prevalent  every- 
where. Many  canners,  packers  and 
manufacturers  of  food  supplies  invite 
public  inspection.  I  visited  one  large 
plant  East  that  required  the  services  of 
three  guides  to  take  care  of  the  visitors, 
each  guide  taking  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  people  on  a  trip  through  this  plant. 

It  pays  to  be  clean.  Would  it  increase 
the  demand  for  our  prunes  if  the 
public  were  invited  to  visit  our  prune 
dryers  and  packing  houses  when  in 
operation?  Have  you  any  doubt  about 
extending  the  invitation?  There  should 
be  none. 

In  closing  I  want  to  say  that  the 
prune  industry  is  going  to  progress. 
We  are  going  to  have  better  fruit.  It 
will  be  one  of  the  best  paying  indus- 
tries we  have.  Commercial  principles 
governing  the  demand  for  our  prunes 
will  in  time  correct  abuses  heretofore 
mentioned,  but  let  us  not  wait  until 
compelled  to  do  something  that  we 
should  voluntarily  do  ourselves.  Let  us 
all  work  together  for  a  better  Oregon 
and  Washington  prune. 


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//  so,  Better  Fruit  offers  you 
a  chance  to  make  good  money 

We  want  a  representative  in  every  fruit-growing  community.  In  every  such 
community  there  is  some  individual  with  a  little  time  each  month  to  spare,  who,  by 
representing  Better  Fruit,  can  make  a  good  income. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  an  elderly  man? 

A  young  fruit-grower  just  getting  started? 

A  wife  who  wants  to  help  out? 

An  ambitious  boy  or  girl  who  wants  to  make  extra  money? 

We  want  someone  in  your  community  to  become  our  permanent  representa- 
tive— to  secure  new  subscriptions  for  us  and  renew  old  ones. 

We  want  two  or  three  representatives  in  the  Hood  River  Valley.  Several  in 
Yakima  and  Wenatchee  —  in  the  Willamette  Valley,  Rogue  River,  etc.  In  fact  we 
want  permanent  representatives  in  every  fruit  district  of  the  West. 

Our  proposition  is  a  good  one.  Are  you  the  man  or  woman  for  the  job? 

Write  today,  stating  your  qualifications. 

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April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  7/ 


Using  Bees  to  Best  Advantage  During  Flow 

By  George  S.  Demuth,  Agricultural  Assistant,  Bee-Culture  Investigations 


BROOD  rearing,  which  is  of  primary 
importance  during  the  preceding 
period,  becomes  of  secondary  consider- 
ation at  about  the  beginning  of  the 
honey  flow,  because  this  is  nearing  the 
limit  beyond  which  time  the  resulting 
bees  develop  too  late  to  take  part  in 
gathering  and  storing  the  crop  of  honey. 

At  this  time  therefore,  there  is  a 
radical  change  in  the  purpose  of  the 
manipulations.  Instead  of  continuing 
the  expansion  of  the  brood-chamber 
the  policy  of  the  beekeeper  should  now 
be  rather  a  concentration  of  the  work- 
ers and  the  brood.  There  is  perhaps  a 
limit  to  the  number  of  workers  that 
profitably  can  be  kept  in  a  single  hive 
and  set  of  supers,  but  this  limit  is  sel- 
dom reached,  the  usual  mistake  being 
in  having  too  few.  Each  colony  should 
have  its  brood-chamber  well  filled  with 
brood  in  a  compact  form  and  be  so 
crowded  with  young  and  vigorous 
workers  that  they  will  immediately  oc- 
cupy the  supers  when  the  honey  flow 
actually  begins. 

The  brood-chambers  of  colonies  oc- 
cupying more  than  one  hive  body 
should  at  this  time  be  reduced  to  one, 
any  extra  brood  being  used  in  colonies 
having  less  than  one  brood  chamber 
full  of  brood.  After  ■  this  operation, 
should  there  be  still  some  colonies  left 
with  the  brood-chamber  but  partly 
filled  with  brood,  they  should  be  filled 
with  combs  of  brood  and  adhering 
bees  (without  the  queen)  draw  from 
some  colony  or  colonies  too  weak  to 
work  well  in  comb-honey  workers. 

This  massing  of  the  workers  in 
strong  colonies,  so  essential  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  fancy  grade  of  comb  honey 
renders  necessary  extremely  careful 
and  skillful  management  since  the  ef- 
forts of  the  beekeeper  may  be  nullified 
in  two  ways: 

(1)  The  bees,  by  swarming,  may 
divide  their  forces  into  two  or  more 
parts,  neither  of  which  would  be  ready 
to  work  in  the  supers  until  the  season 
is  much  advanced  or  perhaps  closed 
entirely,  or  (2)  being  defeated  in  their 


efforts  to  swarm  or  from  lack  of  con- 
venient storage  space,  etc.,  they  may 
do  very  poor  work  even  during  a  good 
honey  flow  simply  because  the  condi- 
tions of  the  colony  are  such  that  the 
storage  instinct  is  dominant. 

To  bring  about  the  best  results  in 
comb  honey,  the  entire  working  force 
of  each  colony  must  be  kept  undivided 
and  the  means  employed  in  doing  so 
must  be  such  that  the  storing  instinct 
remains  dominant  throughout  any 
given  honey  flow. 

Any  increase  made  before  or  during 
the  honey  flow  is  made  at  the  expense 
of  the  surplus  honey  unless  it  be  made 
with  brood  that  would  emerge  in  time 
for  the  young  bees  to  be  of  use  during 
the  honey-flow.  In  general,  however, 
increases  may  be  made  at  a  much  less 
expense  by  setting  aside  some  of  the 
colonies  for  that  purpose.  To  keep 
the  forces  together  and  satisfied  with 
the  storing  instinct  dominant  during  a 
good  honey-flow  is  the  most  difficult 
problem  with  which  the  producer  of 
comb  honey  must  deal. 

Swarming-Preventive  and  Remedial 
Measures. 

Colonies  do  not  all  behave  alike  as 
to  swarming,  (1)  Certain  colonies  go 
through  the  season  with  apparently  no 
thought  of  swarming.  Such  colonies  do 
the  very  best  work  in  the  supers,  and 
their  numbers  can  be  increased  by  skill- 
ful management.  (2)  Other  colonies 
start  queen  cells  preparatory  to  swarm- 
ing, but  can  be  persuaded  to  give  it  up 
by  such  mild  measures  as  destroying 
the  queen  cells  and  other  methods  de- 
vised, but  not  extensively  used  by  pro- 
ducers. Among  these  methods  are  fitting 
the  sheet  of  foundation  in  place,  then 
directing  a  fine  stream  of  melted  wax 
along  its  edges,  or  the  use  of  split  sec- 
tions in  which  a  sheet  of  foundation  is 
continuous  through  a  row  of  sections, 
extending  through  their  sides  and  top. 

Some  super-construction  is  such  that 
the  sections  may  be  placed  directly  in 
the  super  by  the  operator  who  puts  in 


the  foundation.  This  work  is  usually 
done  during  the  winter  months  when 
the  bees  require  no  special  attention. 
Enough  supers  should  be  provided  to 
take  care  of  the  largest  possible  crop, 
even  though  it  is  not  often  that  all  are 
used  the  same  season.  The  beekeeper 
who  is  operating  several  apiaries  can- 
not afford  to  take  time  to  prepare  su- 
pers for  the  bees  during  a  good  honey- 
flow.  Supers  of  sections  thus  prepared 
in  advance  should  be  kept  clean  by 
storing  them  in  piles  and  keeping  the 
piles  covered  with  dust. 


Tree  Planting 

Editor  Better  Fruit: — -Every  spring 
and  fall  some  trees  are  planted.  Many 
trees  will  be  planted  this  spring  and 
again  many  more  will  be  planted  this 
fall.  To  get  the  best  results  from  our 
labor  it  must  be  done  right.  The  old- 
fashioned  way  of  planting  trees  is  fast 
being  replaced  by  one  that  is  more  mod- 
ern and  gives  better  results.  Each  year 
many  trees  are  lost  by  not  doing  it 
right.  Making  a  hole  and  sticking  a  tree 
in  it  is  not  planting  trees.  Of  the  trees 
that  were  planted  this  way,  many  died 
the  first  year  or  never  started  to  sprout. 


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How  Much  Did  YOU  Lose? 

What  did  the  freeze  cost  you,  Mr.  Grower? 

The  day  of  the  old  wood  stove  is  past.  Do  not  leave 
your  valuables  unprotected  any  longer,  but  take 
steps  NOW  to  safeguard  your  crops. 

Let  us  tell  you  how  to  heat  and  ventilate  your  packing  house  properly. 

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WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  i8 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


The  person  usually  blamed  for  the  trees 
not  making  a  healthy  growth,  is  the 
one  who  sold  them,  and  in  90  out  of 
100  cases  it  was  not  his  fault. 

Not  long  ago  I  sat  on  a  rail  fence 
watching  a  man  punch  holes  into  the 
ground  on  my  neighbor's  place.  At 
first  I  thought  he  was  making  holes  for 
small  posts,  but  on  inquiring  I  found 
he  was  making  bore  holes,  to  blast 
holes  for  trees.  I  was  interested  and 
wanted  to  see  the  holes  after  they  were 
blown.  He  told  me  that  the  next  day 
he  would  shoot  them.  He  was  early  on 
the  job.  I  went  over  and  examined 
some  of  the  holes  and  on  measuring 
found  them  to  be  two  and  one-half  feet 
deep,  and  the  hardpan  penetrated.  The 
blaster  prepared  the  shots,  then  loaded 
all  the  holes.  He  used  25  per  cent  dyna- 
mite and  went  about  it  in  this  way:  He 
cut  the  fuse  in  lengths  of  three  feet, 
inserted  the  end  of  the  fuse  in  the  de- 
tonating cap  and  crimped  it.  He  then 
made  a  hole  in  the  stick  of  dynamite 
and  inserted  the  cap,  tying  it  securely 
to  the  dynamite.  After  he  had  all  the 
sticks  primed  he  started  to  load  the 
holes.  The  dynamite  was  shoved  down 
to  the  bottom  of  the  hole  with  a  broom 
handle  and  fine  earth  thrown  in  on  it. 
Earth  was  put  in  the  hole  and  tamped 
with  the  broom  handle  until  the  top  of 
the  hole  was  reached.  He  loaded  all 
the  holes  and  thein  started  to  fire  them. 
I  examined  the  holes  after  they  were 
shot  and  found  them  to  be  about  three 
feet  wide  and  three  feet  deep.  (By  three 
feet  deep  I  don't  mean  that  the  earth 
was  blown  out  to  the  extent  of  three 


feet  but  that  the  earth  was  loose  to  that 
depth.)  He  took  out  all  the  loose  earth 
from  one  of  the  blasted  holes  and  found 
that  the  subsoil  was  busted,  (I  use  the 
term  busted  because  in  it  I  find  I  can 
exactly  say  just  how  it  was.)  The  blaster 
being  through  with  his  work  went 
home.  My  neighbor  called  his  men  and 
they  started  to  plant  the  trees.  There 
were  only  45  to  be  planted,  so  it  did  not 
take  long. 

One  man  went  ahead  and  dug  out  the 
holes.  He  made  two  piles  of  the  earth. 
One  pile  was  the  topsoil  and  the  other 
the  subsoil;  the  neighbor  and  the  other 
man  did  the  planting.  The  topsoil  was 
thrown  into  the  hole  until  the  right 
depth  was  reached;  the  tree  after  being 
pruned  to  a  whip  was  set  in  the  hole 
and  the  balance  of  the  topsoil  was  firm- 
ly packed  around  the  roots;  on  top  of 
this  was  thrown  the  subsoil.  On  top  of 
this  a  dressing  of  well-rotted  manure 
was  placed.  I  asked  my  neighbor  the 
why  for  all  this  and  he  remarked,  "The 
use  of  dynamite  cracked  that  subsoil  so 
that  it  will  be  impossible  for  the  tree 
to  die  from  lack  of  moisture.  The 
young  tree  takes  this  moisture  by  send- 
ing its  fine  rootlets  into  this  subsoil, 
thereby  insuring  it  of  a  steady  growth. 
The  placing  of  the  topsoil  at  the  root- 
system,  gives  the  fine  roots  a  chance  to 
get  into  the  mellow  earth;  they  could 
not  do  it  so  easy  if  they  were  stuck  in 
the  subsoil." 

Regarding  the  cost  he  said,  "The  cost 
was  a  little  more,  but  what  is  the  use 
of  planting  a  tree  and  not  have  it  grow? 
Plant  it  right  at  the  outset.    By  hiring 


a  blaster  I  could  keep  my  men  at  their 
regular  work  until  the  trees  were  ac- 
tually to  be  planted.  The  planting  was 
done  in  half  the  time  as  with  pick  and 
shovel,  and  I  am  well  satisfied." 

Five  months  after  these  trees  were 
planted  I  went  over  and  examined  them. 
The  growth  was  fine,  in  fact  wonder- 
ful for  five  months'  growth  and  that, 
in  my  estimation,  is  the  best  monument 
to  good  preparation  and  care  in 
planting.  F.A.K. 


Fruit  Trees  Good  Investment. 

The  ordinary  individual  craves  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  fruit  in  his  diet.  On 
the  average  farm  fruit  constitutes  only 
about  6  per  cent  in  value  of  all  food 
consumed.  The  percentage  could  be  in- 
creased to  good  advantage,  making  fruit 
a  more  important  part  of  the  diet,  says 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

A  small  area  of  the  farm  devoted  to 
apple  trees,  peach  trees,  berry  plants, 
or  other  fruit  suited  to  the  region,  is 
a  good  investment  for  any  farmer. 


Demand  for  Spray  Material  Heavy. 

The  demand  for  spray  material  in  the 
Northwest  is  the  heaviest  this  year  ever 
known  and  includes  .all  classes  of 
sprays.  The  demand  is  credited  to  the 
excellent  propaganda  that  has  been 
carried  on  by  the  experiment  stations 
and  agricultural  colleges  and  also  on 
account  of  the  prosperity  that  has  come 
to  the  fruit  grower  during  the  past 
two  years. 


KILL  THE  PESTS 

This  man  is  Dusting  twenty- 
acres  per  day  at  a  cost  of  less 
than  one-half  cent  per  tree,  us- 
ing the 

American  Beauty 
Dust  Sprayer 


Codling  Moth 
Red  Spider 
Curcuiio 

Apliis 
Caterpillar 
Mildew,  Etc. 

Write  us  about  it. 


California  Spray  Co. 

6001-29  Pasadena  Ave. 
Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  19^0  BETTER  FRUIT 

The  Value  of  the  Different  Roots  as  Stocks 

By  W.  L.  Howard,  Deciduous  Fruit  Station,  Mountain  "View,  California 


THE  great  shortage  in  nursery  stock 
this  planting  season  has  caused  an 
unusual  amount  of  discussion  about  the 
value  of  different  roots  as  stocks  for 
deciduous  trees.  This  year  nursery- 
men were  able  to  sell  almost  every- 
thing they  had.  In  the  past  year  there 
has  been  a  slight  demand  for  prunes 
on  roots  other  than  myrobalan.  Every 
year  a  considerable  acreage  of  prunes 
is  planted  on  peach  and  almond  stock. 
A  few  have,  for  various  reasons,  de- 
sired to  have  prunes  on  apricot  roots. 
Many  have  inquired  explicitly  about 
the  value  of  this  stock  for  French 
prunes.  We  have  very  good  evidence 
to  show  that  apricot  is  not  a  safe  root- 
stock  for  the  French,  although  it  seems 
to  be  safe  enough  for  sugar  prunes,  and 
possibly  for  some  other  varieties.  The 
French,  however,  makes  a  very  poor 
union  with  the  apricot  root,  and  in  the 
case  of  one  orchard  recently  examined 
near  Gilroy,  the  trees  are  rapidly  break- 
ing off  at  the  age  of  five  and  six  years. 
Other  instances  have  come  to  my  at- 
tention where  the  trees  became  much 
older  than  this  before  breaking,  but 
eventually  they  do  "pinch  off."  Some 
old  orchards  in  Napa  County  where 
Imperial  prunes  were  top-worked  on 
Royal  apricots  many  years  ago  are  still 
in  good  condition.  At  the  same  time 
French  worked  on  the  Royal  was  a  fail- 
ure. Many  growers  have  told  me  that 
sugar  prunes  do  well  on  apricot  root. 
Sugar  prunes,  on  the  other  hand,  make 
a  very  poor  union  with  the  peach,  and 
should  not  be  used  for  that  purpose. 
Some  plums  behave  similarly  on  the 
peach,  the  Diamond  being  a  conspicu- 
ous example. 

Owing  to  the  propaganda  during  the 
last  three  or  four  years  in  favor  of  the 
Japanese  pear  as  a  rootstock,  nursery- 
men have  almost  stopped  using  the 
French  stock.  Indeed,  I  am  told  that 
the  large  growers  of  seedling  stock  in 
Kansas  and  elsewhere  have  almost 
ceased  to  grow  the  French  pear  stock. 
The  wide  use  of  the  Japanese  pear 
stock  has  been  advocated  because  it  is 
so  much  more  resistant  to  pear  blight 
than  the  French  stock,  and  further- 
more because  it  has  been  found  to  very 
successfully  resist  attack  by  woolly 
aphis.  \Mierever  pear  blight  is  preva- 
lent, there  is  no  question  that  the  Jap- 
anese stock  is  much  safer  to  use  than 
the  French  stock,  although  it  is  not 
wholly  blight  resistant  by  any  means. 
In  the  coastal  region,  particularly  in 
the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  where  pear 
blight  is  no  problem,  there  has  always 
been  considerable  discussion  as  to  the 
advisability  of  giving  up  the  French 
stock,  which  has  been  thoroughly  tried 
out  and  found  to  be  satisfactory  in 
every  way,  except  that  it  is  injured  by 
woolly  aphis.  The  big  question  in  the 
bay  region,  especially  in  the  lowlands 
adjacent  to  the  southern  end  of  San 
Francisco  Bay,  is  to  know  whether  the 
Japanese  pear  root  will  withstand  as 
much  water  in  the  soil  as  the  French. 
In  that  particular  region,  the  woolly 
aphis  is  said  not  to  give  much  trouble, 


even  to  French  stock.  One  nursery- 
man who  furnishes  considerable  stock 
for  the  region  under  discussion  thinks 
that  the  growers  there  should  stick  to 
the  French  pear  stock  by  all  means,  but 
he  complains  that,  on  account  of  the 
general  condemnation  of  French  stock, 
it  is  now  becoming  almost  impossible  to 
procure  it. 

Undoubtedly  a  rootstock  entirely  re- 
sistant to  blight  will  eventually  be 
found.  At  the  present  time  it  is  known 
that  some  of  the  Siberian  seedlings  give 
great  promise:  certain  strains  of  varie- 
ties are,  for  all  practical  purposes,  un- 
doubtedly blight  resistant,  but  the  prob- 
lem is  to  isolate  these  resistant  strains 


Page  jp 

from  closely  related  forms  that  are  not 
resistant  and  get  them  in  suciffient 
quantities  to  place  them  within  the 
reach  of  all  nurserymen  and  growers. 

A  few  growers  have  been  able  to 
start  trees  that  were  blight  resistant  so 
far  as  trunk  and  the  bases  of  main 
branches  were  concerned  by  bench- 
grafting  long  scions  of  the  Surprise 
pear  on  Japanese  roots.  These  grafts 
were  planted  deeply,  so  that  the  scions 
in  most  cases  formed  roots.  If  the  re- 
sultant nursery  trees  are  planted  in  the 
orchard  so  that  the  Japanese  root  is  six 
or  eight  inches  underground,  there  is 
practically  no  danger  of  sprouts  arising 
from  the  seedling  stock.  The  Surprise 
pear  makes  a  fine,  shapely  tree,  and  is 
a  vigorous  grower.  It  is  entirely  safe 
as  regards  attacks  from  pear  blight.  The 
Surprise  tree  may  be  shaped  up  in  the 


DOW 

DEPENDABLE 

Spray  Materials 

are  now  available  in  virtually  every  important  con- 
suming section  in  the  United  States  and  many  for- 
eign countries. 

This  justly  famous  line  is  the  product  of  one  of 
the  largest  chemical  manufacturers  in  the  world,  and 
every  known  modern  device  is  necessary  and  is  em- 
ployed in  the  manufacture  of— 

Dow  Powdered  Arsenate  of  Lead 
Dow  Powdered  Magnesium  Arsenate 
Dow  Powdered  Lime  Sulphur 
Dow  Paste  Arsenate  of  L^ad 
Dow  Powdered  Magnesium  Bordo 

The  Dow  Spray  Calendar  and  name 
of  the  nearest  distributor  will  be  sent 
free  upon  request. 

The  Dow  Chemical  Company 

MIDLAND,  MICHIGAN 


WHEN    WRITING  AFIVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


GROWERS'  AND  PACKERS' 

EQUIPMENT 

Labor  Saving  Devices  for  Handling 
Fruit  and  Vegetables 

Automatic  Elevators,  Sizers,  Box 
Presses,  Box  Making  Benches, 
Ladders,  Packers  Supplies. 

Write  for  catalog. 

Price  Manufacturing  Co.  Inc.  wa^ih!^ 


desired  manner  and  the  main  branches 
top-worked  to  Bartlett  about  the  third 
year.  Many  have  asked  if  the  Bartlett 
makes  a  safe  union  with  the  Surprise. 
All  that  can  be  said  on  this  point  at  the 
present  time  is  that  four  or  five  years 
of  growth  have  shown  no  evidence  of 
weakness. 


No  Orchard  or  Farm  is  Complete 
Without  Our  Latest  Model 

COMMERCIAL  SIZE 

All  Purpose  Evaporator 

Write  for  Folder 

HOME  EVAPORATOR  CO. 
ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI 


p.  O.  Box  817 


Central  Station 


Are  You  Going  to  Build 
A  Drier? 


See  me  before  building. 

I  can  save  you  money. 

$20  gets  blue  prints  complete. 

I  run  six  tunnels  to  one  stove. 

Have  right  ideas  of  size  of  air  cham- 
ber and  proper  radiating  surface. 

Dried  82  tons  of  prunes  at  a  total 
cost  of  $16.50  per  ton. 

Every  drier  my  type  is  a  success. 

EDWARD  DENCER 

R-3,  Box  158  SALEM,  OREGON 


Liming  Soils 

Farmers  of  acid  soils  have  often  won- 
dered why  liming  increases  the  yield 
of  crops  on  some  acid  soils  and  does 
not  on  others.  Investigations  by  the 
Oregon  Agricultural  College  experi- 
ment station  chemists  have  developed 
the  fact  that  increases  may  be  expected 
wherever  the  calcium  forms  combina- 
tions with  humus  bodies. 

Since  the  composition  of  the  soil  so- 
lutions is  a  governing  factor  in  plant 
growth,  the  effect  of  lime  on  the  com- 
position of  these  soil  solutions  may  be 
an  index  to  the  inconsistent  action  of 
lime  acid  soils,  says  the  report  of  the 
chemists.  The  solutions  from  various 
acid  soils  were  analyzed  at  successive 
intervals  after  liming  with  calcium  car- 
bonate, calcium  oxide  or  calcium  sul- 
phate. 

The  analysis  showed  that  nitrates 
increased  in  those  soils  that  respond  to 
lime  treatment,  large  quantities  of  sol- 
uble potassium  were  caused  in  all  soils 
treated  with  calcium  sulphate,  the  cal- 
cium content  remained  nearly  constant 
whatever  the  treatment,  soluble  phos- 
phorus decreased  slightly  under  all 
treatments,  and  sulfo-flcation  occurred 
in  all  soils  responding  to  liming.  Alka- 
linity was  present  in  soils  treated  with 
the  carbonate  and  oxide  forms,  while 
acidity  was  present  in  untreated  soils 
and  those  treated  with  the  sulphate 
forms. 

These  findings  fortify  the  soils  de- 
partment findings  that  drainage  of  wet 
lands  and  incorporation  of  organic  mat- 
ter in  rundown  lands  should  precede 


boxes  on  tKis  terrible  ride 
All  gapped  a  joint  or  split  a  side; 
Did  we  5337  all?  Well,  all  but  one — 
nixe  B-D  box  finds  riding  fun. 

Your  goods  are  safe 
when  packed  in 
Bioedel  Donovan 

super-strong  boxes. 


Sawed  right,  carefully  graded,  skillfully  built 
and  delivered  promptly. 

BLOEDEL  DONOVAN  LUMBER  MILLS 

1020  White  Building,  Seattle,  Wasli. 

Douglas  Fir,  Western  Cedar,  Hemlock,  Spruce,  J^ed  Cedar  Shingles 


extensive  liming.  They  do  not  indicate 
any  lessening  of  the  use  of  lime,  but 
do  go  far  to  establish  the  soundness  of 
Dean  Cordley's  recommendation  that 
every  farmer  of  acid  soils  conduct  lime 
experiments  to  see  whether  his  soils 
will  respond,  and  then  govern  his  or- 
ders for  lime  accordingly. 


Bush  Fruit  Culture. 

If  a  currant  or  gooseberry  planta- 
tion is  properly  cared  for,  at  least  eight 
to  ten  crops  may  be  expected  before  it 
becomes  unprofitable  because  of  its  age. 
Productive  fields  over  twenty  years  old 
are  not  uncommon  in  some  sections. 
Although  the  number  of  years  a  planta- 
tion will  continue  in  good  bearing  con- 
dition depends  to  some  extent  upon  lo- 
cation and  soil,  the  most  important 
factor  is  the  care  which  it  receives. 
The  period  of  productiveness  of  both 
currant  and  gooseberry  plants  is  longer 
in  northern  regions  than  towards  the 
southern  limits  of  their  culture  and 
longer  on  heavy  soil  than  on  sandy  soil 


Providing  More  Money  for 
Higher  Education 

The  splendid  advance  of  progressive 
agriculture  in  Oregon  as  well  as  agri- 
cultural education  arid  higher  educa- 
tion in  general,  is  threatened  with  a 
serious  check  unless  the  relief  prayed 
for  in  the  Higher  Educational  Tax  act, 
to  be  voted  on  by  the  people  of  Oregon 
at  the  special  election  May  21,  is 
granted. 

The  results  of  extensive  research 
work  by  the  experiment  station  at  the 
Agricultural  College,  Corvallis,  and  the 
seven  branch  stations  representing  the 
peculiar  climatic  and  soils  conditions 
of  the  seven  agricultural  regions  of  the 
state,  have  been  rapidly  brought  into 
intimate  touch  with  the  farmer  through 
the  extension  service.  The  practice  of 
these  results  in  production  and  protec- 
tion of  farm  crops,  livestock,  dairying, 
poultry  raising  and  farm  and  soil  man- 
agement have  increased  tremendously 
the  production  of  high  class  produce 
and  at  the  same  time  tended  toward  re- 
duction of  production  costs. 

Rapid  as  has  been  this  extension  of 
scientific  agriculture,  it  has  scarcely 
kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  college 
attendance — a  growth  in  which  the 
State  University  has  shared.  Rising 
living  costs,  the  costs  of  equipment, 
buildings,  supplies  and  instruction  have 
climbed  continuously  throughout  the 
war  and  reconstruction  periods,  while 
the  funds  for  support  of  the  institutions 
and  the  research  and  extension  work 
have  remained  about  stationary  in 
nominal  proceeds,  but  in  reality  have 
shrunk  about  100  per  cent  in  purchasing 
power. 

In  view  of  these  emergencies  the  col- 
lege and  the  university  and  normal 
school  have  joined  in  asking  for  an  ad- 
ditional 1.26  mills  for  relief,  and  the 
matter  has  been  referred  to  the  people 
by  the  legislature  to  be  passed  upon  at 
the  special  election  in  May. 


WHEN    WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 

r 


BETTER  FRUIT 


.  Page  21 


The  Cutler  Box  Press 


PRESSURE  BY  || 
THE  roOT  IM-  ^ 

me:d>ately  swmGS 

THESE  ARMS  OVER 
THE  BOX. 


Here  is  the  all  round  durable 
press  you  have  been  looking  for. 
The   CUTLER   BOX  PRESS  is 

strongly  built  of  steel  and  will  last 
many  seasons  of  hard  usage. 

There  are  no  arms  or  parts  above 
the  box  to  interfere  with  folding 
the  lining  paper  or  placing  the  lids. 
A  light  touch  of  the  foot  brings  the 
presser  arms  into  position. 

Couplings  are  provided  for  grav- 
ity carrier  bringing  boxes  in  from 
either  side  and  for  the  lidded  boxes 
out  through  the  back.  No  need  to 
lift  the  boxes.  They  slide  easily  on 
the  smooth  metal  top  and  tip  over 
onto  the  carrier  to  the  rear  after 
the  lid  is  on. 

The  presser  arms  are  connected 
with  an  equalizer  bar  which  evens 
the  pressure  at  the  two  ends  of  the 
pack. 


Quickly  adjustable  for  apple  or  pear  boxes. 
Never  out  of  order.  "Will  not  rack  to  pieces. 

IF  YOU  WANT  ONE  OF  THESE  PRESSES  GET  YOUR  ORDER  IN 


The  Cutler  Fruit  Grader 

Is  recognized  as  the  leading  fruit  grader  on  the  market  today  and  is  used  in  hundreds  of  packing  houses 
in  the  United  States,  Canada  and  foreign  countries. 

THE  1920  MODEL  CUTLER  FRUIT  GRADER  has  some  improvements  and  special  attachments 
which  will  still  further  increase  the  leadership  of  this  successful  and  practical  fruit  grader. 

PLAN  ON  INSTALLING  A  CUTLER  GRADER  THIS  YEAR.  There  is  no  other  investment  you 
can  make  which  will  insure  the  handling  of  your  crop  at  a  minimum  expenditure  of  time'  and  money. 
Get  your  crop  packed  ahead  of  the  danger  of  a  freeze  or  car  shortage. 

DON'T  PUT  OFF  ORDERING  YOUR  PACKING  HOUSE  EQUIPMENT.  THE  SITUATION  THIS 
YEAR  IN  THE  OBTAINING  OF  MATERIAL  FOR  MANUFACTURING  IS  SUCH  AS  TO  MAKE 
THE  PLACING  OF  EARLY  ORDERS  ABSOLUTELY  NECESSARY  IF  YOU  THINK  YOU  WILL 
NEED  ANY  PACKING  HOUSE  EQUIPMENT  THIS  FALL. 

FILL  OUT  THE  COUPON  BELOW  AND  MAIL  TO  US  TODAY.    YOU  MAY  REGRET  NOT 

DOING  SO.  j  - 

■    Cutler  Manufacturing  Co. 

Write  today  for  Catalog  and  Prices 


Cutler  Manufacturing  Co. 

353  EAST  TENTH  STREET 


PORTLAND,  OREGON 


353  E.  Tenth  St.,  Portland,  Oregon. 
Please  send  descriptive  circulars  and  prices  of 
the  equipment  as  indicated  below. 

Check  the  equipment  you  are  interested  in. 

 Grader.   Gravity  Carrier. 

 Box  Press.   Grip  Trucks. 

Crop  expected  in  1920  boxes. 

Name  

Address   ..,  


WHEN    WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  22 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 

An  Illustrated  Magazine  Devoted  to  the  Interests 
of  Modern  Fruit  Growing  and  Marketing. 
Published  Monthly 
by 

Better  Fruit  Publishing  Company 

703  Oregonian  Building 
PORTLAND,  OREGON 


Why  Not  Confer? 

It  is  proposed  that  the  various  large 
fruit  handling  organizations  of  the 
Northwest  hold  a  conference  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  matters  in  rela- 
tion to  fruit  marketing  that  are  of  im- 
portance to  both  grower  and  shipper. 
The  main  object  of  this  conference 
would  be  for  the  purpose  of  making 
an  agreement  to  establish  a  bureau  of 
information  or  a  system  by  which 
each  of  these  organizations  would  sup- 
ply daily  reports  of  the  movement  of 
fruit  shipments  that  are  being  distrib- 
uted from  Northwest  points.  Other 
matters  would  no  doubt  be  taken  up  at 
such  a  conference  that  would  result  in 
beneficial  action. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  handi- 
cap under  which  most  of  these  organi- 
zations have  been  working  during  the 
past  season,  and  other  seasons  for  that 
matter,  in  competing  for  sales  in  the 
big  markets,  it  would  appear  that  if 
such  an  agreement  could  be  made  that 
there  would  be  many  advantages.  The 
kind  of  fruit  shipments  that  this  sys- 
tem would  more  particularly  apply  to 
would  be  apples,  the  tonnage  of  which 
in  the  Northwest  is  increasing  so  rapid- 
ly that  a  cooperative  scheme  of  market- 
ing, if  only  on  a  limited  basis,  is  very 
essential. 

Fruit  growers  in  the  Northwest  must 
wake  up.  They  must  be  brought  to 
realize  that  they  must  leave  no  stone 
unturned  to  keep  the  markets  they  have 
for  their  fruit,  and  to  create  new  ones, 
for  the  big  part  played  in  this  year's 
apple  market  by  the  fruit  from  the  Pa- 
cific Northwest  is  causing  the  apple 
growing  sections  in  the  East  and  the 
Southwest  to  discuss  the  adoption  of 
methods  that  are  expected  to  give  the 
fruit  of  those  sections  the  preference. 

A  conference  of  the  fruit  handling  or- 
ganizations of  the  Northwest  looking 
to  the  adoption  of  improved  marketing 
methods  is  not  only,  as  we  have  said, 
essential,  but  a  necessity. 


The  Call  of  Education. 

Now  that  the  legislature  of  Washing- 
ton has  done  its  duty  in  the  matter  of 
providing  additional  funds  for  public 
education  it  remains  for  the  voters  in 
Oregon  to  keep  pace  with  its  sister  state 
in  keeping  the  torch  of  enlightenment 
bright  and  burning. 

The  measure  to  provide  the  Oregon 
Agricultural  College,  the  University  of 
Oregon  and  the  State  Normal  school 
with  additional  funds  will  be  voted  on 
in  Oregon  at  the  primaries  May  21.  AIT 
of  these  institutions  need  the  relief  in 
the  way  of  money  asked  for  and  the 
public  needs  the  greatest  efficiency  they 
can  render  in  the  several  branches  of 
education  in  which  they  specialize. 
Larger  classes,  causing  a  need  for  en- 
larged accommodations  and  more  equip- 


ment, more  instructors  and  increases  in 
salaries  to  retain  these  instructors,  ow- 
ing to  higher  living  costs,  are  among 
the  vital  things  that  make  additional  in- 
comes for  these  institutions  necessary. 

As  the  fountain  head  from  which 
flows  the  stream  that  leads  to  the  higher 
things  in  life  no  public  spirited  Oregon 
voter  will  ignore  this  call.  Oregon 
citizens  must  go  on  record  as  as  pro- 
gressive in  the  matter  of  education  as 
the  bordering  states  of  California  and 
Washington  if  they  expect  their  state 
to  forge  ahead.  With  every  progres- 
sive educational  movement  in  these 
states  being  pushed  they  cannot  aff'ord 
to  lag  behind. 


Cull  Apples  and  Cider. 

Reports  from  several  sections  of  the 
country  are  to  the  effect  that  cider  mak- 
ing plants  that  last  year  paid  growers 
many  thousands  of  dollars  are  going 
out  of  business  or  are  being  put  to  other 
uses  because  they  cannot  comply  with 
the  government  regulation  prohibiting 
the  manufacture  of  any  kind  of  fruit 
juice  that  contains  over  one-half  of  one 
per  cent  of  alcohol.  Therefore  the  pro- 
hibition law  that  seemed  to  be  a  boon 
to  the  apple  grower  is  in  reality  a 
black  eye. 

The  question  now  arises  what  is  to 
be  done  with  this  grade  of  cull  apple 
which  is  unfit  for  any  other  use.  If  the 
law  is  strictly  complied  with  it  cannot 
even  be  made  into  vinegar  as  the  chemi- 
cal action  that  takes  place  in  the  pro- 
cess between  cider  and  vinegar  exceeds 
the  alcoholic  content  many  times. 
Boiled  cider,  which  is  an  attenuated 
form  of  apple  butter,  is  not  very  highly 
relished  as  a  beverage  and  other  at- 
tempts to  rob  the  pure  juice  of  the  apple 
of  its  slightly  sparkling  content  and 
then  market  it,  have  not  made  anybody 
rich. 

There  seems  to  be  but  one  hope  for 
that  old-time  refreshing  drink  of  our 
ancestors,  and  that  is  to  have  the  law 
governing  its  alcoholic  content  modified. 
Considering  its  usually  non-intoxicat- 
ing qualities  this  should  not  be  hard 
to  accomplish  for  even  a  Maine  or  Kan- 
sas senator  ought  not  to  object  to  cider. 


Information  on  Storage. 

Experiments  now  being  conducted  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture in  a  specially  constructed  gov- 
ernment plant  to  investigate  diseases 
and  other  reasons  for  the  deterioration 
of  fruit  in  cold  storage  should  result 
in  the  saving  of  thousands  of  dollars 
and  also  the  more  scientific  manage- 
ment of  plants  for  storing  fruit.  With 
a  movement  on  foot  to  greatly  increase 
the  storage  of  apples  in  the  Northwest 
and  other  sections  of  the  country  in- 
formation of  this  nature  will  prove 
highly  valuable. 

While  excellent  results  have  already 
been  accomplished  in  this  line  by  the 
experts  which  the  government  has 
placed  in  the  field  the  proper  storage 
of  fruit  is  a  question  the  average  grow- 
er and  shipper  needs  much  information 
on.  Heretofore  storage  has  been  a  part 
of  the  apple  industry  that  has  been 
left  to  a  large  extent  to  buyers  and 


shippers.  From  now  on,  however,  it 
is  apparent  that  the  grower  from  the 
standpoint  of  self-protection  intends  to 
add  storage  to  the  other  phases  of  the 
fruit  industry  and  with  this  in  mind 
will  welcome  complete  information  on 
this  question.   

Order  Early. 

From  present  indications  it  will  be 
well  for  the  fruit  grower  who  has  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  equipment  and  sup- 
plies to  purchase  to  make  arrangements 
to  obtain  them  well  in  advance  of  the 
time  they  are  needed.  This  advice  ap- 
plies to  almost  every  appliance,  mate- 
rial or  thing  of  any  kind  necessary 
for  an  orchard  or  fruit  farm.  Manufac- 
turers are  already  giving  notice  that 
they  are  experiencing  difficulty  in  sup- 
plying retailers  and  the  latter  state  that 
the  demand  is  far  in  excess  of  the  pres- 
ent supply.  So  order  early  if  you 
would  not  be  caught  short  handed  as 
the  season  advances. 


What  the  Papers  Interested 
in  Fruit  Are  Saying 

According  to  The  Fruit  World,  published  at 
Melbourne,  Australia,  the  quantity  of  apples 
that  shippers  wanted  to  export  from  that 
country  to  England  during  the  present  season 
was  1,600,000  bushels.  The  English  govern- 
ment, however,  which  was  providing  the  ships 
for  the  transportation  of  the  fruit  cut  down 
the  space  for  shipments  to  750,000  bushels. 
The  result  was  a  number  of  indignation  meet- 
ings and  severe  criticism  of  the  government's 
action.  Of  the  total  quantity  booked  for  ship- 
ment by  the  growers,  Tasmania  produced 
800,000  bushels,  Victoria,  400,000  bushels.  West 
Australia,  350,000  bushels  and  South  Austra- 
lia, 50,000  bushels. 


W.  M.  Yundt,  who  owns  an  apple  orchard 
near  Peshastin,  Washington,  has  the  distinc- 
tion of  having  grown  the  largest  apple  in  the 
United  States  in  1919.  It  was  a  Wolf  River 
variety,  measuring  nineteen  inches  in  circum- 
ference and  weighed  two  pounds,  ten  ounces! 
— Monthly  News  Letter,  Washington  State  De- 
partment of  Horticulture. 


Preliminary  estimates  of  the  tonnage  of 
dried  fruits  in  California  tend  to  show  more 
than  400,500  tons  were  handled  in  1919  as 
compared  with  265,700  in  1918.  Raisins,  184,- 
000  tons,  constituted  the  largest  variety.  There 
were  135,000  tons  of  prunes,  35,000  tons  of 
peaches,  14,500  tons  of  apricots,  11,000  tons 
of  figs,  10,000  tons  of  apples  and  5,000  tons 
of  pears.  The  biggest  increase  was  in  prunes, 
the  production  having  almost  tripled  that  of 
1918.  The  apricot  yield  was  500  tons  lighter 
than  the  preceding  year. — The  Evaporator. 


Are  our  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment 
stations  incapable  of  solving  fertilizer  ques- 
tions in  relation  to  the  orchard?  There  if  now 
an  amazing  lack  of  accurate  and  satisfying 
data  and  information  on  the  subject.  Experts 
on  orcharding  and  specialists  on  fertilizers 
themselves  testify  to  the  apparent  apathy  of 
experimental  institutions  in  this  respect.  At 
the  November  convention  of  the  Ontario  Fruit 
Growers'  Association,  Prof.  F.  C.  Sears,  of 
Amherst,  Mass.,  said  that  the  agricultural 
colleges  had  done  less  in  the  matter  of  solving 
orchard  fertilizer  problems  than  in  solving 
any  other  problem  of  either  orchard  or  farm. 
Mr.  Henry  G.  Bell  of  Toronto,  who  knows  as 
much  about  fertilizers  in  general  as  any  man 
in  Canada,  said  to  the  association:  "I  am  con- 
vinced that  one  of  the  things  that  is  holding 
back  your  net  returns  from  orcharding  in  this 
province  is  a  lack  of  specific  information  re- 
garding fertilizers." 

In  studying  fertilizer  problems,  experi- 
menters seem  to  have  chosen  to  follow  the 
lines  of  least  resistance.  They  have  fled  from 
the  complex  fertilizer  problems  of  the  orchard 
to  other  fields  where  results  are  more  certain 
and  more .  immediate.  There  have  been  very 
few  long-continued  experiments  anywhere  in 
Canada  or  the  United  States  to  ascertain,  for 
instance,  what  the  fertilizer  requii-ements  of 
the  apple  are,  but  long-continued  experiments 
with  fertilizers  on  field  crops  are  numerous. — 
Canadian  Horticulturist. 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Pear  Culture  at  Home  and  Abroad 

By  C.  I.  Lewis 


FOR  a  number  of  years  there  has 
been  a  steady  increase  in  interest 
in  pear  culture  in  the  Pacific  Northwest. 
This  interest  is  due  to  a  number  of 
causes.  One  of  these  is  that  California 
developed  the  pear  industry  until  it 
became  the  leading  state  in  the  Union 
in  the  production  of  this  fruit,  while 
the  Rogue  River  Valley  in  Southern 
Oregon  has  become  noted  the  world 
over  for  the  high  class  pears  which  it 
produces.  Again,  there  is  the  fact  that 
while  many  states  are  planting  apples 
very  heavily,  statistics  show  that  very 
few  states  are  giving  the  pear  any  at- 
tention, consequently  more  and  more 
growers  are  favoring  the  pear  above 
the  apple.  Pear  culture  in  Europe  has 
for  a  number  of  centuries  attracted  a 
great  deal  of  attention.  In  fact  the 
pear  has  in  the  past  received,  and  is 
now  receiving,  more  attention  than  the 
apple.  In  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century  Van  Mons,  the  Relgian  plant 
breeder,  attracted  world-wide  attention 
by  introducing  a  large  number  of  new 
pears.  The  blight,  which  is  the  great- 
est scourge  of  the  pear  in  this  country 
being  an  American  disease,  was  un- 
known to  the  Europeans. 

The  French  have  contributed  more 
literature  on  pear  culture  than  any 
other  nation.  Thousands  of  varieties 
are  described  by  such  men  as  Du 
Hamel,  Decaisne,  Le  Roy  and  Mas. 
Many  of  these  works  give  colored  plates 
and  very  full  descriptions  of  varieties. 
The  early  American  books  gave  a  great 
deal  of  space  to  pear  culture  and  de- 
scribed many  varieties  of  pears.  Dur- 
ing that  period  of  American  history 
when  nurseries  were  few  and  far  apart 
and  the  farmers  planted  seed  for  their 
orchards,  many  new  varieties  of  fruit 
originated.  During  this  epoch  our  lead- 
ing varieties  of  apples  were  produced, 
and  likewise  many  pears.  Such  varie- 
ties as  Howell  and  Seckel  are  of  Amer- 
ican origin.  During  the  early  part  of 
the  last  century  the  blight  was  raising 
such  havoc  among  the  orchards  that 
pear  growers  were  becoming  very  much 
discouraged.  This  gloom  was  bright- 
ened somewhat,  however,  by  the  intro- 
duction from  Europe  of  the  leading  va- 
rieties of  pears,  and  our  American 
pomologists  like  Barry,  Downing, 
Thomas  and  Warder  became  decidedly 
enthusiastic  over  these  importations. 
The  pears  that  were  introduced  into 
this  country  in  the  early  days  were  of 
the  European  blood  (Pyrus  communis). 
A  little  later  some  of  the  sand  pears 
(Pyrus  cinensis)  were  introduced.  They 
attracted,  however,  very  little  attention 
because  the  quality  of  the  fruit  was 
about  equal  to  that  of  a  raw  potato. 
However,  they  hybridized  with  the 
former  and  as  a  result  the  Kieffer  and 
later  hybrids  were  produced.  These 
hybrids  were  not  so  susceptible  to 
blight  and  they  extended  pear  culture 
southward,  as  the  Oriental  pear  would 
stand  warmer  climatic  conditions  than 
the  European  pear. 

What  is  the  present  status  of  pear 
culture  in  this  country?  Investigation 


will  show  that  only  two  or  three  states 
are  gaining  in  acreage,  a  few  are  barely 
holding  their  own,  while  the  great  ma- 
jority are  losing  ground.  We  find  the 
pears  of  pure  European  blood  succeed 
best  where  the  trees  make  a  moderate 
growth,  and  where  the  combination  of 
climate  and  soil  produces  a  firm  wooded 
and  hardy  tree.  For  the  Eastern  States, 
New  York,  New  England  and  iMichigan 
seem  to  offer  the  best  conditions  for 
successful  pear  growing,  and  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  California,  Western  Wash- 
ington and  Western  Oregon  are  espe- 
cially adapted  for  the  production  of 
this  fruit.  Those  regions  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  that  have  rather  warm  climatic 
conditions  during  the  growing  season 
and  must  depend  largely  upon  irriga- 
tion, will  be  able  to  grow  pears  only 
by  using  the  greatest  care  in  retarding 
the  growth  of  the  trees.  The  blight 
will  probably  always  be  a  problem, 
but  scientific  methods  of  control  will 
doubtless  go  a  long  way  towards  mak- 
ing pear  culture  successful  in  such  re- 
gions. Concerning  the  growing  of  such 
pears  as  the  Kieffer  many  of  the  Middle 
Western  and  Southwestern  States  are 
growing  this  variety  successfully. 

In  choosing  a  location  for  a  pear 
orchard  the  ideal  conditions  will  be, 
first  such  climatic  factors  as  produce 
slow  growth;  second,  good  air  drain- 
age so  as  to  reduce  the  frost  damage; 
third,  the  selection  of  congenial  soil, 
and  fourth,  the  planting  of  well  adapted 
varieties.  Having  favorable  climatic 
conditions  and  good  air  drainage,  the 
question  of  the  adaptability  of  the  vari- 
eties to  the  soil  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant factors.  It  has  long  been  known 
that  certain  varieties  of  pears  will  grow 
on  very  heavy  land — on  land  that  is  too 
heavy  for  apples.  This  has  led  many 
people  to  believe  that  any  marshy  or 
swampy  land,  which  their  farm  con- 
tains, which  is  unadapted  to  any  other 
crop,  will  grow  pears  successfully;  and 
while  it  is  true  that  some  varieties  of 
the  pear  will  grow  on  very  heavy  land, 
it  is  essential,  however,  that  this  soil 
be  drained  if  best  results  are  to  be 
hoped  for.  Standing  water  on  the  soil 
is  not  conducive  to  the  best  vigor  and 
growth  of  the  tree. 

The  question  of  variety  and  adapta- 
bility is  largely  a  local  one,  and  it  will 
be  some  time  before  each  community 
can  satisfactorily  answer  this  question. 
The  Bartlett  seems  to  be  a  variety 
which  adapts  itself  to  a  great  many  con- 
ditions, growing  well  on  many  soils, 
from  the  heaviest  to  the  lightest.  The 
Bosc  is  doing  well  on  heavy  soils.  The 
flowell,  while  doing  well  on  some  of 
the  lighter  loams,  is  showing  indication 
that  it  will  do  even  better  on  heavier 
soils.  The  Winter  Nelis  requires  a 
strong,  rich  soil  and  prefers  the  moist 
loams  to  the  dry,  light  loams.  The  Anjou 
and  Comice  seem  to  prefer  lighter  loams, 
although  many  fine  Anjous  are  gathered 
from  rather  heavy  soils.  Here  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest  very  few  varieties  of 
the  pears  are  being  grown.  The  Clair- 
geau  is  about  the  only  variety  not  men- 


Page  23 

tioned  that  is  being  grown  commer- 
cially. There  are  undoubtedly  many 
varieties  of  pears  which  will  succeed 
with  us.  To  the  pear  grower  I  would 
suggest  that  he  try  a  few  varieties 
that  are  not  now  commonly  grown, 
advising,  of  course,  that  the  experiment 
be  on  a  limited  scale.  Among  the  pears 
that  I  would  advise  him  to  look  up  and 
experiment  with  are  Glout  Morceau, 
President  Druard,  Duchess  Bordeau, 
Forelle,  Santa  Claus  and  Charles 
Ernest. 

The  question  of  stocks  to  use  is  one 
which  is  largely  in  the  experimental 
stage.  Up  to  very  recently  our  nursery- 
men were  using  what  is  known  as  the 
French  seedling  stock  almost  exclusive- 
ly. This  is  of  Pyrus  communis  blood. 
Recently,  however,  many  Pacific  Coast 
nurserymen  are  discarding  this  stock 
and  are  using  the  sand  or  Japanese 
pear.  The  reasons  are  that  the  French 
stock  is  attacked  by  the  root  louse, 
whereas  the  sand  pear  is  not,  and  the 
latter  is  also  more  resistant  to  the  blight. 
Where  dwarf  pears  are  to  be  used,  the 
Angers  Quince  is  the  best  stock.  The 
Portuguese  can  be  used,  however,  to 
good  advantage  where  the  climate  is 
very  mild.  The  quince  should  be 
worked  to  either  Koonce  or  Angouleme, 
and  these  in  turn  are  worked  over  to 
whatever  varieties  are  desired. 


Winesap,  Delicious, 
Winter  Banana  Apples 
Bartlett  Pears 
Italian  Prunes 
Elberta,  J.  H.  Hale, 
Slappey  Peaches 
Bing,  Lambert,  Royal  Ann 
Cherries 

Home  Nursery  Co. 

RICHLAND,  WASHINGTON 


Backward  and  fonvard,  every  stroke 
counts  with  the  double-edged  blade 
of  the  Gilson  Weeder.    It  cuts  both 
under  the  soil  surface,  de- 
stroying weeds  and 
forming    a  perfect 
mulch,   A  marvel  in 
the  garden,  children 
can    do    as  much 
work  as  grown-ups. 
You  work  away  from 
the   cultivated  soil 
instead  of  tramping 
over  it.    The  side  arms  act  as 
fenders  protecting  plants  and 
shrubl)try:  just  what  you  need 
for  weeding  flower  beds  and 
undershrubbery.   Sis-foot  han- 
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PORT  WASHINGTON,  WIS. 


WHEN   WRITIXG  .ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  24 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


THE  NEWELL  GRADER 

To  you  growers  who  are  contemplating  buying  a  Fruit 
Grader  this  year,  I  want  you  to  know  that  my  machine 
is  at  last  perfected  and  will  be  on  the  market  in  30  days. 

I  have  devoted  my  time  and  thought  for  the  past 
two  years  to  this  Grader,  profiting  by  the  mistakes  of 
others,  studying  the  needs  of  the  growers,  and  I  now 
believe  that  the 

Newell  Weight  Fruit  Grader 

is  the  best  that  can  be  built. 
Sizes  Accurately  by  Weight 

Signed:  Timothy  Newell. 

Watch  these  pages  for  further  information  as  to'  prices,  etc. 
or  write  direct  to 

HENNINGER  &  AYES  MFG.  CO. 

80  North  Fifth  Street  PORTLAND,  OREGON 


To  You  SS?erTh^t  a  "Friend" 

Let  us  advise  you  to  do  so  this  season. 
We  handle  the  best  spray  gun  made, 

THE  "FRIEND" 

We  also  manufacture  chemically  perfect  spray  ^materials. 
HOOD  RIVER  SPRAY  COMPANY,  Hood  River.  Oregon 


RidIey,Houlding  &  Co. 

COVENT  GARDEN,  LONDON 

WE  ARE 

Specialists  in 
Apples  and  Pears 

CABLE  ADDRESS:  BOTANIZING,  LONDON 

Codes:  A.  B.  C.  5th  Edition  and  Modern  Economy 


The  distance  for  planting  pears  will 
vary  from  twenty-two  feet  to  thirty 
feet,  according  to  soil  and  climate.  Many 
varieties  of  pears  are  sterile  and  do  not 
set  fruit  well  with  their  own  pollen. 
The  Comice  comes  in  this  class,  and  the 
Anjou  sets  fruit  poorly  with  its  own 
pollen.  In  fact  even  with  self-fertile 
varieties  I  would  recommend  planting 
so  as  to  secure  cross  pollenation.  I 
would  suggest  two  lists,  early  bloomers 
and  late  bloomers.  For  Oregon,  the 
early  bloomers  are  Bartlett,  Clairgeau, 
Anjou,  Howell,  KiefFer;  late  bloomers, 
Angouleme,  Bosc,  Comic,  Easter,  P. 
Barry,  Winter  Nelis.  Any  two  early 
bloomers  or  any  two  late  bloomers 
will  inter-pollenate  satisfactorily.  Plant 
from  two  to  six  rows  of  a  variety,  as 
they  will  produce  more  economical  than 
mixing  them  in  rows.  In  an  article  of 
this  length  it  is  impossible  to  go  into 
all  the  details  of  pollenation,  soil  treat- 
ment, pruning  etc.  The  care  of  the  soil 
is  about  the  same  as  that  given  for 
apples.  The  open  type  of  tree  is  the 
more  approved  form,  as  it  is  believed 
it  is  easier  to  fight  blight  with  such  a 
tree  than  where  the  central  leader  is 
allowed  to  remain.  Care  should  be 
used,  however,  in  starting  the  trees  to 
get  the  main  branches  well  spaced.  The 
greater  the  distance  between  the 
branches  the  better.  Should  the  blight 
get  into  the  crotch  of  a  tree,  where  the 
branches  come  from  one  point,  the  tree 
will  become  greatly  weakened.  After 
the  trees  come  into  bearing,  moderate 
annual  pruning  should  be  the  rule.  It 
is  believed  by  some  growers  that  the 
Anjou  will  stand  more  pruning  than 
some  other  varieties.  Summer  pruning 
will  be  beneficial  in  overcoming  the 
tendency  of  some  varieties  to  bear  on 
the  tips  of  branches. 

Practically  all  Pacific  Coast  pears  are 
being  boxed,  and  by  the  use  of  pre- 
cooling,  refrigeration  cars  and  cold 
storage  the  season  of  most  of  our  varie- 
ties of  pears  has  been  greatly  length- 
ened. Howells  and  Comice  keep  until 
Christmas  and  Anjous  until  February. 
The  export  trade  in  pears  is  of  con- 
siderable importance  and  our  best  trade 
in  England  will  be  for  Christmas  pears. 
Late  winter  pears  will  have  to  com- 
pete with  South  African  Bartletts 
which  reach  English  markets  about  the 
last  of  January.  The  canning  of  pears 
has  become  a  tremendous  industry  and 
the  planting  of  Bartletts  for  canning 
factory  use,  when  conducted  on  a  com- 
mercial scale,  is  proving  a  very  satis- 
factory business. 

There  is  a  splendid  opportunity  to  in- 
crease the  consumption  of  pears.  A 
campaign  of  education  is  necessary.  For 
example,  the  Bosc  pear  is  very  little 
known,  yet  its  quality  is  superb.  But 
because  of  its  unattractive  color  and 
form  it  is  not  a  good  show-stand  fruit. 
When  once  known,  however,  it  becomes 
very  popular.  There  is  no  region  in  the 
world  that  can  surpass  the  Pacific  Coast 
in  pear  production.  The  quality  is  un- 
excelled and  the  flesh  so  firm  that  it 
stands  shipping  well.  With  such  an 
asset  we  should  be  able  to  increase 
the  consumption  of  pears  very  materi- 
ally in  the  next  decade. 


WHEN    WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  2j 


Northwest  Fruit  Notes  from  Here  and  There 


OREGON. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  pear  growers  in  the 
Rogue  River  Valley,  Oregon,  are  being  offered 
S45  per  ton  for  their  pears  for  canning  pur- 
poses this  year  the  California  Pear  Growers' 
Association  is  advising  the  Oregon  growers  not 
to  sell  at  that  figure  as  indications  are  that 
canning  pears  will  bring  a  much  higher  price. 
A  telegram  recently  received  at  Medford  from 
California  advised  the  local  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce that  buyers  in  the  latter  state  were 
offering  §85  per  ton  for  the  same  stock  that 
they  were  trying  to  buy  in  Oregon  for  845. 
It  is  freely  predicted  at  Medford  that  canning 
pears  will  sell  for  §100  per  ton  before  the 
season  is  over. 

The  fact  that  several  million  pounds  of  the 
1919  crop  of  prunes  remain  unsold  is  causing 
operators  in  the  prune  industry  considerable 
uneasiness,  according  to  newspaper  reports. 
This  large  amount  of  holdover  stock  is  ex- 
pected to  affect  the  price  of  the  new-  crop  of 
prunes. 

A  fruit  ranch  sale  of  interest  recently  took 
place  at  Medford,  when  Lieutenant  O.  V.  Mor- 
row purchased  Brookhurst,  the  large  place 
formerly  owned  by  E.  B.  Pickel,  near  Med- 
ford. The  ranch,  which  consists  of  153  acres, 
60  acres  of  which  are  in  pears,  6  acres  in 
apples  and  the  rest  in  barley  and  alfalfa  sold 
for  §45,000.  The  entire  acreage  is  under  irri- 
gation and  is  considered  one  of  the  best  pro- 
ducing fruit  farms  in  the  Medford  district. 

According  to  E.  M.  Harvey,  research  man 
for  the  Oregon  Agricultural  College,  who  has 
been  inspecting  orchards  in  the  Willamette 
River  and  Rogue  River  Valleys  to  determine 
the  extent  of  the  damage  winter  injury  from 
frost,  the  damage  is  comparatively  slight.  In 
a  recent  statement  Mr.  Harvey  says:  "Greatest 
injury  is  noticed  in  the  lower  and  central  sec- 
tions of  the  Willamette  Valley.  In  these  sec- 
tions the  damage  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
trees  have  not  properly  reached  a  dormant 
state  of  growth  and  were  thereby  more  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  from  frost.  The  Upper 
Willamette  Valley  and  Columbia  Basin  came 
through  almost  intact  as  the  trees  were  in  a 
better  state  of  dormancy."  An  optimistic  view 
of  conditions  in  Southern  Oregon  is  held  by 


Professor  Harvey.  Only  a  few  isolated  trees 
show  fatal  injury.  No  extensive  damage  is 
reported  from  the  commercial  orchards  of  the 
Umpqua  and  Rogue  River  Valleys.  "In  the 
Willamette  Valley  the  discoloration  of  cam- 
bium tissue  on  south  side  of  trees  just  above 
snow  line  caused  alarm  to  fruit  growers.  This 
discoloration  has  cleared  away  in  many  cases 
and  a  vigorous  growth  has  set  in  which  would 
indicate  the  ultimate  recovery  of  the  trees." 

Although  the  orchards  in  the  Hood  River 
Valley  were  hit  a  little  by  the  severe  cold 
weather  in  December,  reports  from  that  section 
are  to  the  effect  that  strawberries  came  thi-ough 
in  good  shape  and  a  tine  yield  and  an  early 
crop  is  now  expected.  Buyers  for  canneries 
are  already  reported  to  have  been  in  the  Hood 
River  Valley  offering  14  cents  per  pound  for 
canning  berries. 

The  Umpqua  Valley  Fruit  Union  located  at 
Roseburg,  which  is  winding  up  its  apple 
shipments  for  the  1919-1920  season  has  shipped 
150  cars  of  apples.  The  acreage  of  apples 
coming  into  bearing  in  this  district  is  fast 
increasing  and  the  next  few  years  will  see  a 
large  tonnage  being  shipped  from  this  point. 
The  plantings  in  this  district  are  in  fine  condi- 
tion and  the  apples  being  produced  are  of 
most  excellent  quality. 


That  the  fame  of  the  loganberry  has  reached 
Canada  was  shown  in  a  recent  purchase  at 
Salem  of  40,000  tips  which  will  be  set  out 
in  British  Columbia.  The  tips  were  bought 
by  L.  Chelvally,  superintendent  of  the  Borden 
Milk  Company's  plant  at  Sardis,  B.  C.  Mr. 
Chevally,  who  owns  a  large  acreage  near  that 
place  will  set  part  of  it  to  loganberries. 

Fruit  growers  in  Lane  County,  near  Eugene, 
are  contemplating  setting  a  large  acreage  to 
strawberries.  The  section  that  has  been  picked 
out  for  the  new  planting  is  known  as  Lower 
Fiddle  Creek,  where  the  soil  is  said  to  be 
especially  adapted  to  this  berry.  In  order  to 
give  the  fruit  growers  of  this  district  better 
transportation  facilities  the  county  authorities 
are  preparing  to  build  several  miles  of  high- 
way to  reach  the  railroad  direct.  Canning 
berries  in  the  Eugene  district  brought  as  high 
as  15  cents  per  pound  last  year. 


The  Phez  Fanns  Corporation,  a  company 
connected  with  the  Phez  Company  of  Salem, 
is  setting  out  30,000  strawberry  plants  this 
spring.  The  planting  is  being  done  on  a  larg» 
acreage  recently  acquired  in  what  is  known 
as  South  Bottom.  The  varieties  being  set  oul 
are  the  Wilson,  Trebla  and  Ettersburg. 

The  Hood  River  cider  and  vinegar  plant 
recently  completed  its  apple  crushing  opera- 
tions for  the  season.  The  season's  run  was 
the  heaviest  in  the  history  of  the  plant,  the 
amount  of  fruit  made  into  cider  and  vinegar 
approximating  10,000  tons. 

Reports  from  Salem,  the  center  of  the  logan- 
berry industry,  are  to  the  effect  that  buyers 
are  offering  still  higher  prices  for  these  ber- 
ries for  the  coming  season.  Offers  of  15  cents 
per  pound  were  recently  reported  from  that 
section  with  only  a  few"  contracts  made  at  this 
price.  The  high  figure  is  said  to  be  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  crops  in  many  of  the  berry 
fields  will  be  cut  down  by  the  injury  from  the 
freeze  in  December. 


Britt  Aspinwall,  one  of  the  heaviest  pro- 
ducers of  loganberries  in  the  Willamette  Val- 
ley, reports  having  received  orders  for  500,000 
plants  this  spring.  The  orders  for  these  plants 
have  come  from  all  sections  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  and  although  the  price  has  jumped  to 
§50  per  thousand,  buyers  are  reported  to  be 
eager  to  buy  them  even  at  that  figure. 


The  Phez  Company  of  Salem,  recently  con- 
tracted for  an  acreage  of  strawberries  from 
the  place  of  C.  W.  Swallow,  near  Oregon  City 
for  §160  per  ton  for  1920  and  §140  per  ton 
for  the  crop  in  1921.  Several  other  contracts 
of  this  character  are  reported  to  have  been 
made  in  the  Oregon  City  district. 

The  announcement  is  made  that  Frank  Moore 
of  Walla  Walla,  Wash.,  who  owns  an  apple 
orchard  in  the  Upper  Hood  River  Valley  will 
soon  commence  the  construction  of  a  modern 
packing  plant  and  storage  house  to  handle 
his  increasing  apple  crop.  The  building  will 
be  constructed  of  concrete  and  will  be  three 
stories  high.  In  the  upper  story  there  will 
be  acconmiodations  for  the  help  needed  at 
harvest  time. 


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WHEN    WRITING   ADVERTISERS   MEXTIO.V    BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  26 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ig20 


With  24,000  acres  of  fruit  signed  up  by  the 
Oregon  Growers'  Cooperative  Association,  the 
management  of  the  organization  is  now  turn- 
ing its  attention  to  providing  the  plants  nec- 
essary to  handle  the  tonnage  during  the  coming 
season.  While  no  announcement  has  been 
made  as  to  just  where  these  plants  will  be 
located  as  yet,  the  oflicers  of  the  association 
have  under  consideration  tentative  plans  which 
are  expected  to  be  put  into  execution  shortly. 


An  innovation  that  is  causing  considerable 
interest  among  fruit  men  in  the  Medford  dis- 
trict is  the  announcement  of  the  installation 
by  the  Bardwell  Fruit  Company  of  two  box 
making  machines.  These  machines  are  the 
first  of  this  kind  to  be  installed  in  this  district 
and  will  have  a  capacity  of  2,000  boxes  per 
day.  The  Bardwell  Company  is  establishing 
equipment  in  its  plant  which  it  expects  to 
almost  entirely  do  away  with  hand  labor  in 
packing  fruit.  The  equipment  consists  of  a 
Cutler  grading  machine,  Doig  box  nailing  ma- 
chine and  a  Matthews  gravity  conveyor  system. 


WASHINGTON. 
Fruit  growers  and  others  interested  in  the 
better  transportation  of  fruit  and  produce 
from  the  Wenatchee  district  are  much  encour- 
aged over  the  outcome  of  a  meeting  recently 
held  at  Wenatchee  to  consider  the  proposition 
of  building  a  railroad  from  that  district  to 
Pasco,  to  connect  with  the  transcontinental 
lines  which  touch  that  point.  At  the  meeting 
which  was  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Wenatchee  Commercial  Club,  25  per  cent  of 
the  cost  of  the  road  was  pledged  by  Wenatchee 
citizens.  With  this  amount  of  the  cost  of 
building  the  road  assumed  by  popular  sub- 
scription it  is  believed  that  the  remaining 
amount  necessary  can  be  taken  care  of  by 
issuing  bonds.  As  planned  the  first  link  of 
the  road,  which  would  follow  the  Columbia 
River  would  extend  from  Wenatchee  to  Bev- 
erly, where  it  would  connect  with  the  Mil- 


waukee railroad.  Ultimately,  however,  it  is 
planned  to  extend  the  road  on  to  Pasco.  The 
amount  considered  necessary  to  build  the  road 
is  15,000,000.  It  is  proposed  to  raise  $500,000 
of  this  amount  among  the  citizens  of  Northern 
Washington. 


In  addressing  a  meeting  of  200  berry  grow- 
ers recently  at  Seattle,  J.  L.  Stahl,  horticultur- 
ist at  the  Western  Washington  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station,  advised  prospective  berry 
growers  not  to  put  all  their  fruit  in  one  basket, 
or  in  other  words  to  diversify.  In  this  con- 
nection Mr.  Stahl  said:  "If  I  had  ten  acres 
of  land  and  was  going  into  berry  growing  I 
would  not  devote  it  exclusively  to  one  fruit. 
I  would  plant  a  variety.  On  the  gravelly 
spots  I  would  put  in  strawberries,  in  the 
light  soil  red  raspberries,  and  in  the  heavier 
soils  loganberries  or  blackberries.  Occasion- 
ally, even  in  this  favored  country  some  crop 
will  fail,  and  if  your  berry  crops  are  diversi- 
fied you  will  fare  better." 


In  District  No.  4,  Mr.  Darlington  reports 
some  damage  to  stone  fruits,  apricots  and 
peaches  showing  the  most  injury,  but  he  looks 
for  a  normal  crop  of  apples.  In  the  Yakima 
section.  District  5,  the  conditions  range  about 
the  same  as  in  District  No.  3.  In  some  peach 
orchards  we  find  a  very  large  per  cent  of  live 
buds,  enough  to  warrant  a  good  crop,  while  in 
others  the  conditions  are  quite  the  reverse. 
Pears  were  also  injured  in  some  parts  of  the 
Yakima  country,  as  well  as  cherries.  In  the 
sixth  district,  the  prune  section  of  the  state, 
Mr.  Fletcher  reports  a  slight  injury  to  the 
prune  crop,  but  believes  that  under  favorable 
conditions  we  have  reason  to  expect  a  reason- 
able crop  of  prunes.  In  other  counties  on 
the  west  side,  where  we  find  the  principal 
bush  fruit  interests,  there  is  evidently  some 
injury  to  the  loganberry  canes  which  were 
left  on  the  trellises,  but  those  which  were  still 
on  the  ground  show  but  little  injury.  Mr. 
Huff  has  reported  some  damage  to  the  rasp- 
berry canes,  but  he  cannot  tell  the  extent  of 
it  at  this  time. 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Yellow  Pine 
Box  and  Lumber  Company  at  Yakima,  a  re- 
port of  the  business  for  last  year  showed 
that  600,000  fruit  boxes  were  manufactured 
and  delivered  and  that  all  preferred  stock- 
holders received  boxes  at  13  cents  a  box.  The 
company  paid  8  per  cent  dividends  to  pre- 
ferred stockholders,  besides  making  a  sub- 
stantial surplus  earning.  Between  800,000  and 
1,000,000  boxes  will  be  manufactured  this  year. 
A  limited  portion  of  the  output  is  now  being 
sold  to  preferred  stockholders  at  23  cents 
per  box. 

The  loading  of  apples  in  box  cars  for  ship- 
ment east  has  been  started  in  the  Wenatchee 
district,  and  in  the  opinion  of  local  shippers 
this  method  is  the  only  one  that  offers  any 
hope  for  moving  the  crop.  Arrivals  of  empty 
refrigerator  cars  continue  to  be  at  a  low  ebb, 
only  about  10  or  12  cars  a  day  being  received. 
Total  shipments  to  date  amount  to  10,632  car- 
loads of  apples,  leaving  nearly  1500  cars  still 
to  be  forwarded. 


Plans  for  four  new  apple  warehouses,  to 
cost  from  $10,000  to  $20,000  each,  to  be  erected 
this  year,  have  been  favorably  considered  by 
trustees  of  the  Spokane  Fruit  Growers'  Com- 
pany. The  company  contemplated  the  erection 
this  summer  of  warehouses  at  Grant  Orchards, 
Greenacres,  Coeur  d'Alene  and  Sunset.  The 
proposed  warehouses  will  have  storage  facili- 
ties for  40,000  to  80,000  boxes  each.  They  will 
be  frame  construction  with  filled  walls.  The 
company's  experience  during  the  cold  spell 
of  last  December  was  that  fruit  withstood  the 
extreme  weather  better  in  such  warehouses. 
They  can  be  made  ready  for  the  1920  crop. 
The  erection  of  a  fruit  storage  warehouse  of 
several  hundred  cars  capacity  at  Otis  Or- 
chards by  the  Earl  Fruit  Company,  as  an  addi- 
tion to  the  company's  packing  and  storage 
plant  already  there,  is  being  considered. 


Indications  are  that  Yakima  cider  plants, 
which  annually  pay  growers  of  the  valley  in 
the  neighborhood  of  $75,000  for  cull  apples 
will  go  out  of  business  this  season  and  the 
plants  be  converted  to  other  uses.  Operators 
declare  it  is  impossible  to  manufacture  com- 
mercial cider  which  will  not  develop  an 
alcoholic  content  in  a  short  time  exceeding 
the  lawful  amount. 

A  new  cold  storage  warehouse  of  four  stories 
and  a  capacity  of  800  cars  of  apples,  in  addi- 
tion to  space  for  the  storage  of  a  vast  quantity 
of  other  perishable  food  produce,  will  be 
erected  in  Spokane  at  an  approximate  cost  of 
$600,000.  J.  W.  Turner,  manager  of  the  Arctic 
Cold  Storage  and  Warehouse  Company,  is 
heading  the  project  and  it  is  supported  by  the 
allied  interests  of  Spokane,  including  the  Earl 
Fruit  Company,  the  Spokane  Fruit  Growers, 


G.  L.  Davenport 

Grower  and 
Shipper 

MOSIER,  OREGON 


MAIN  OFFICE 
147  Front  Street,  PORTLAND,  OREGON 


Nice  Bright  Western  Pine 

FRUIT  BOXES 

AND  CRATES 

Good  standard  grades.  Well  made.  Quick  shipments. 
Carloads  or  less.  Get  our  prices. 

Western  Pine  Box  Sales  Co. 

SPOKANE,  WASH. 


5  Great  Novelties 

on  r»to   'The  glorious 
ulOi  crims-on  Wool- 

!  flower  recently  intro- 
duced by  us  has  succeeded 
,  everywhere   and  proved 
i  to  be  the  most  showy  gar- 
'  den  annual.  Nothing 
can  surpass  the  mass  of 
bloom  which  it  shows  all 
Summer  and  Fall. 

M'e  now  have  three  new 
colors  —  pink,  yellow  and 
1^  scarlet,  aswellascrimson. 
All  these  colors  mixed, 
20  cts.  per  pkt. 

With  each  order  we 
Bend  1  trial  pkt.  each  of 
Giant  Kochia,  most  deco- 
rative foliage  annual. 
Salvia  Hybrids,  white, 
pink,  striped,  scarlet,  plumed,  etc.,  mixed. 
Japan  Iris,  new  hybrids,  all  colors.  Magnificent. 
Giant  Centaurea,  superb  for  garden  or  vases. 

And  our  Big  Catalog,  all  for  20  cts. 
Big  Catalog,  free.  All  flower  and  vegetable  seeds, 
bulljs,  plants  and  new  berries.  We  grow  the  finest 
Gladioli,  Dahlias,  Cannas,  Iri^^es,  Peonies,  Perennials, 
Shrubs.  Vines,  Ferns,  Peas,  Asters,  Pansies,  etc.  All 
special  prize  strains,  and  many  sterling  novelties. 
JOHN  LEWIS  CHILDS,  Inc.      Floral  Park,  N.Y. 


This  is 


the  Point 


FRUIT 
WRAPPER' 


Chemically  Treated 
"Caro'^  Protects 

"Caro"  from  DessiCARE  (to  dry  up) 

"Caro" 
Prolongs  the 
Life  of  Fruit 

Why? 


Fruit  decomposition  starts  from  a  bruise  which  opens  tiny  holes  and  permits  the  juice  to  escape  and  BACTERIA  to  enter. 
"Caro"  clings  closely  and  dries  up  the  escaping  juice.  "Caro"  ingredients  harden  the  spot,  kill  the  BACTERIA,  arrests  the  decom- 
position—and thus  PROLONGS  THE  LIFE  OF  FRUIT.   If  your  fruit  is  worth  shipping  it  is  worth  keeping  in  best  condition. 

Demand  "CARO"— Wrap  Your  Fruit  in  "CARO"— The  Fruit  Buyer  Knows  "CARO" 
Order  from  Any  Fruit  Company  or  American  Sales  Agencies  Co.,  112  Market  St.,  San  Francisco 


WHEN   WTRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  2/ 


the  Northwest  Fruit  Growers'  Exchange  and 
individual  capitalists.  The  plan  is  to  form  a 
new  company  to  absorb  the  present  Arctic 
Cold  Storage  and  Warehouse  Company,  an  es- 
tablished concern  of  many  years'  standing, 
with  its  miscellaneous  cold  storage  business, 
consisting  of  butter,  eggs,  beef  and  other  food 
products.  This  will  be  Unit  C  in  the  final 
plant.  The  building  will  be  of  reinforced 
concrete,  four  stories,  with  a  foundation  cap- 
able of  bearing  four  more  stories  later.  It  will 
be  modern  in  machinery  and  equipment  and  as 
first  constructed  will  have  a  capacity  of  800 
carloads  of  apples  at  one  time  in  addition  to 
other  products.  When  four  more  stories  are 
added  its  apple  capacity  will  be  1000  carloads. 
There  will  be  45,000  square  feet  of  space  to 
each  floor  and  a  total  of  a  million  and  a  half 
cubic  feet  of  space.  It  is  proposed  to  start 
work  on  the  building  so  that  it  will  be  com- 
pleted in  November.  This  territory  produces 
20,000  cars  of  apples  annually,  but  shippers 
cannot  consign  to  Seattle  for  cold  storage  be- 
cause of  the  back  haul  rates. 


The  Price  Manufacturing  Company  of  Yak- 
ima, is  the  name  of  a  new  company  which  has 
taken  over  the  manufacture  of  the  Price  fruit 
sizer  and  other  packing  house  equipment.  The 
memLers  of  the  new  firm  are  A.  W.  Richter 
and  C.  A.  Palmer.  Mr.  W.  G.  Price,  who  was 
the  inventor  of  the  apple  sizing  machine  that 
bears  his  name  will  be  retained  by  the  new 
company  in  an  advisory  capacity.  Mr.  Rich- 
ter, who  is  president  of  the  new  concern,  is 
a  graduate  of  Cornell  University,  having 
specialized  in  mechanical  engineering.  Mr. 
Palmer  is  a  graduate  of  Whitman  College  and 
has  been  instructor  in  chemistry  and  physics 
at  the  Yakima  High  School  for  several  years. 


In  commenting  on  the  outlook  for  the  fruit 
crop  in  the  State  of  Washington  for  the  com- 
ing season,  M.  L.  Dean,  chief  of  the  division 
of  horticulture  of  the  Washington  State  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  summarizes  as  fol- 
lows: "It  is  impossible  to  tell  the  exact  extent 
of  winter  injury  to  the  stone  fruits  and  bush 
fruits  until  growth  starts.  Hence,  pruning 
of  the  soft  fruits  should  be  very  carefully 
done  so  as  not  to  destroy  any  prospective 
fruit  buds.  Beginning  with  District  No.  1  in 
the  vicinity  of  Walla  Walla,  our  present  ob- 
servations are  that  along  the  Snake  River 
territory,  there  will  probably  be  about  a  50 
per  cent  crop  of  peaches  and  apricots,  cherries 
running  from  75  per  cent  to  90  per  cent.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Clarkston  there  is  little  evident 
damage  at  the  present  time.  In  the  Walla 
Walla  section  proper,  there  is  not  enough 
damage  to  perceptibly  affect  a  normal  crop. 
In  the  second  district  in  the  vicinity  of  Spo- 
kane we  find  some  damage  to  pears  and  cher- 
ries, but  no  serious  injury  to  apples.  In  the 
Kettle  Falls  country,  Stevens  County,  the  tem- 
peratures ranged  below  20  and  these  is  con- 
siderable damage  in  sight,  especially  to  the 
stone  fruits;  pears  are  injured  somewhat  in 
that  territory.  In  the  third  district,  the  lower 
Yakima  country,  the  injury  is  spotted.  There 
are  places  where  the  cherries  and  peaches 
seem  to  be  practically  all  killed,  with  some 
blackening  of  the  pear  wood  and  evident  in- 
jury to  the  bud,  but  in  other  places  the  dam- 
age is  very  slight  and  there  is  a  promise  of  a 
50  per  cent  crop.  The  apples  do  not  show 
any  serious  injury." 


IDAHO. 


The  addition  of  an  entomologist,  an  assist- 
ant dairy  specialist,  and  an  assistant  in  rodent 
control  to  the  staff  of  specialists  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Idaho  Extension  Division  is  an- 
nounced. These,  with  the  sheep  specialist, 
whose  employment  was  announced  a  little 
more  than  a  week  ago,  will  bring  the  number 
of  specialists  to  twenty-three.  Besides  these, 
the  federal  predatory  animal  inspector  for 
Idaho  has  taken  offices  with  the  extension 
staff  and  will  work  in  cooperation  with  ex- 
tension workers.  Claude  Wakeland  of  Fort 
Collins,  Colorado,  who  has  been  assistant 
state  entomologist  for  Colorado,  is  the  new 
extension  entomologist.  He  will  begin  his 
Idaho  employment  April  1.  He  will  take  up 
the  fight  against  the  alfalfa  weevil,  the  codling 
moth,  the  grasshopper,  cricket  and  other  in- 
sect pests.  One  of  his  methods  of  fighting  the 
weevil  will  be  to  demonstrate  the  use  of  a 
power  sprayer  on  a  Ford  auto  truck,  a  system 
which  has  been  employed  in  Colorado.  Propa- 
gation of  parasites  to  destroy  the  weevil  aiso 
will  be  undertaken.  Other  extension  special- 
ists who  will  be  connected  with  the  horticul- 
tural work  of  the  University  are:  F.  B.  Hitch- 
cock, soils  specialist;  E.  R.  Bennett,  field  hor- 
ticulturist; B.  F.  Sheehan,  field  agronomist  and 
state  seed  commissioner;  C.  B.  Ahlson,  assist- 
and  field  agronomist;  Jessie  C.  Ayres,  state 
seed  analyst;  Claire  Hobson,  assistant  state 
seed  analyst. 


When  one  survivor 
breeds  a  thousand  enemies 


— you  can't  afford  to  spray  with  untested 
preparations  or  chemicals  of  unknown 
quality.  One  surviving  codling  moth,  for 
example,  lays  from  thirty  to  a  hundred 
eggs,  The  hatched  larvae  soon  develop 
into  moths  and  produce  a  second  genera- 
tion —  often  a  third  brood  may  form  in  a 
season. 

Use  only  chemicals  of  proved  strength  and 
merit,  and  mixtures  approved  by  state  and 
federal  experimental  stations. 

Grasselli  Grade  Specialties 
Arsenate  of  Lead  Paste  and  Powder 
Calcium  Arsenate 
Lime  Sulphur  Solution 
Bordeaux  Mixture 
Sulphate  of  Nicotine 

are  time-tested  products,  made  and  bached 
by  a  firm  81  years  old  in  the  chemical 
field. 

It  will  pay  you  to  specify  Grasselli  Grade 
when  ordering  your  spray  materials.  You 
will  find  Grasselli  Dealers  handily  located 
in  every  fruit  and  farming  section. 

The  Grasselli  Chemical  Co. 

Founded  in  1839 
Cleveland 


GRASSELLI  GRADE 
Insecticides 
and  Fungicides 


WHEN  WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION  BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  28 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  Ip20 


r 


INJURY  FROM 

FRUIT  TREE 
PESTS 

ETERNAL  vigilance,  and  the 
prompt  application  of  the 
most  reliable  and  effective 
spraying  materials  is  neces- 
sary to  insure  a  profitable  crop. 

Some  people  may  be  able 
to  afford  gambling  on  some 
things,  but  mighty  few  fruit 
growers  are  willing  to  risk  a 
crop  failure  by  taking  chances 
on  spraying  materials. 

Our  appeal  is  to  the  thought- 
ful fruit  grower  who  fights  shy 
of  unsupported  claims,  and 
demands  to  be  shown.  It  is  to 
him,  who,  if  he  were  raising 
live  stock  would  own  full 
blooded  sires;  or  if  corn,  would 
see  to  it  that  the  seed  was 
perfect. 

To  such  fruit  growers  we 
offer  Orchard  Brand  Dry 
Powdered  Arsenate  of  Lead 
as  a  crop  and  tree  protection. 
It  has  been  proved  effective. 
Its  results  are  known.  We 
shall  be  glad  to  give  you  the 
names  of  many  successful 
fruit  growers  who  are  enthu- 
siastic about  its  results. 

Suggestion :  Write  for  the  booklet. 

Also  write  for  Bulletin  No.  3  on 
Dormant  Spraying  of  Deciduous  Fruit 
Trees. 

Other  spray  materials,  for  specific 
purposes,  we  recommend  are : 

Orchard  Brand  Dry  Powdered  Arsenate 
of  Lead. 

Orchard  Brand  Arsenate  of  Lead, 

Standard  paste. 
Orchard  Brand  Atomic  Sulphur 

(patented). 
Orchard  Brand  Bordeaux  Mixture  paste. 
Orchard  Brand  Powdered  Bordeaux 

■Mixture. 

Orchard  Brand  Lime  Sulphur  Solution. 
B  T  S  Dry  Sulphur  Compound  (patented). 
Orchard  Brand  Weed  Killer. 
Universal  Brand  Dormant  Soluble  Oil. 
Universal  Brand  Miscible  Oil. 
Universal  Brand  Distillate  Oil  Emulsion. 
Liquid  Whale  Oil  Soap. 

Our  interests  are  the  same  as  yours. 
Write  us  about  your  tree  troubles. 


General  Chemical  Company 

770  Royal  Insurance  Building,  Dept.  A 

San  Francisco,  California 


Timely  Topics  and  Advice  for  Fruitgrowers 


As  the  spraying  season  is  at  hand  it  will 
be  well  to  beware  of  the  man  who  offers  to 
spray  your  fruit  trees  for  a  few  cents  a  tree. 
According  to  reports  made  on  this  question 
by  various  experts  who  have  conducted  experi- 
ments to  determine  the  cost  of  spraying  or- 
chards it  costs  from  50  to  60  cents  per  tree  to 
spray  trees  that  have  reached  an  age  of  15 
to  18  years  with  four  sprays.  Therefore  it 
will  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  avoid  the  man 
who  offers  to  spray  your  orchard  at  a  very 
cheap  figure. 


If  you  are  contemplating  buying  nursery 
stock  do  not  go  into  the  deal  with  your  eyes 
closed.  Patronize  only  reliable  dealers  and 
insist  that  the  stock  shall  be  entirely  free 
from  disease  and  in  perfect  condition.  In 
disregarding  this  advice  you  are  liable  to  intro- 
duce into  your  new  orchard  or  berry  patch 
troubles  that  it  will  take  years  to  overcome. 

In  writing  of  the  comparative  merits  of  cal- 
cium arsenate  and  arsenate  of  lead,  W.  S. 
Regan  of  the  Massachusetts  Experiment  Sta- 
tion at  Amherst,  says:  "The  killing  efficiency 
for  the  powdered  forms  of  arsenate  of  lead  and 
calcium  arsenate,  pound  for  puond,  is  about 
equal,  the  former  containing  about  33  per  cent 
of  arsenic  and  the  latter  about  43  per  cent. 
Based  on  an  equal  arsenical  content  for  a 
given  amount  of  spray  solution,  there  is  a 
slight  advantage  in  killing  power  in  favor  of 
arsenate  of  lead.  Arsenate  of  lead  is  the  best 
poison  to  use  alone.  Calcium  arsenate  cannot 
be  used  safely  alone  upon  foliage,  but  must 
be  combined  with  milk  of  lime  or  a  fungicide, 
such  as  lime  sulphur  or  bordeaux  mixture.  If 
combined  with  milk  of  lime  its  cost  is  in- 
creased so  that  it  is  practically  equal  to  that 
of  arsenate  of  lead,  thus  giving  the  latter  the 
preference  because  of  superior  killing  power. 
Arsenate  of  calcium  is  the  only  arsenical  which 
can  be  safely  combined  with  lime  sulphur  or 
other  sulphid  sprays,  and  this  combination  is 
the  logical  orchard  arsenifcal  fungicide.  Ar- 
senate of  lead  seems  to  work  slightly  better 
with  bordeaux  mixture,  but  calcium  arsenate 
is  probably  cheaper,  so  that  the  question  of 
which  to  choose  for  use  with  this  fungicide  is 
mainly  a  matter  of  convenience.  Prospective 
purchasers  of  calcium  arsenate  should  buy 
only  from  reliable  dealers,  and  should  follow 
directions  for  application  carefully." 

Carbon  bisulphide  is  now  claimed  to  be  the 
most  effective  means  of  ridding  orchards  and 
fields  of  ground  squirrels  and  gophers.  The 
treatment  now  being  used  is  what  is  known  as 
the  waste  ball  method  which  when  properly 
applied,  it  is  said,  will  kill  90  per  cent  of 
rodent  pests.  The  method  of  using  the  carbon 
bisulphide   waste  ball   is   after   opening  the 


container  to  pour  enough  water  on  top  of  the 
liquid  to  completely  cover  it  so  as  to  prevept 
evaporation.  In  using  a  cork,  seal  with  glue, 
mucilage  or  glycerine.  Place  the  required 
number  of  waste  balls  in  a  bucket  and  pour 
in  enough  carbon  bisulphide  to  completely 
cover  them.  Then  place  a  waste  ball  in  every 
burrow  of  the  colony  or  village.  Allow  at 
least  two  minutes  for  the  gas  to  permeate  the 
burrows,  and  then  ignite  the  gas  in  each  bur- 
row with  a  torch  or  match.  Please  be  careful 
when  igniting  the  gas ;  the  operator  should 
stand  well  to  one  side  when  doing  this.  The 
waste  balls  should  be  dropped  as  deeply  as 
possible  in  the  burrows  and  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  cover  them  when  closing  the  open- 
ing or  mouth  of  the  burrow.  When  all  the 
burrows  have  been  ignited  close  them  up, 
using  plenty  of  earth;  pack  the  opening  of  the 
burrows  tightly  with  the  feet.  Be  careful  in 
igniting  the  gas  that  there  is  no  dry  vegeta- 
tion around  the  burrows  as  the  burning  gas 
is  liable  to  start  a  fire. 

In  planting  your  cherry  orchard  do  not  for- 
get your  pollenizers.  As  you  will  probably 
plant  Royal  Annes,  Bings  or  Lamberts,  the 
varieties  that  will  poUenize  these  standard 
cherries  are  the  Long  Stemmed  Waterhouse, 
Tartarian,  Black  Republican,  Coe,  Elton,  Wood 
and  a  number  of  seedlings.  The  Long  Stemmed 
Waterhouse  is  considered  the  best  as  apart 
from  its  being  one  of  the  most  efficient  poUen- 
izers  it  brings  a  price  on  the  market  almost 
equal  to  the  Royal  Ann,  Ring,  or  Lambert. 

Remarkable  results  are  now  being  obtained 
by  the  use  of  sulphur  for  many  soil  crops  and 
in  preparing  soils  to  secure  more  complete 
action  from  the  use  of  other  fertilizers.  Some 
of  the  highly  desirable  results  secured  through 
the  vise  of  sulphur  are  that  it  improves  alkali 
soils,  promotes  nitrification  and  transforms 
latent  phosphates  and  potash  into  available 
plant  food.  If  you  are  interested  in  using 
sulphur  you  will  find  it  worth  while  to  secure 
a  bulletin  on  the  subject  from  your  nearest 
agricultural  college  experiment  station. 

The  home  garden  on  the  fruit  ranch  should 
not  be  neglected  or  forgotten.  To  secure  the 
best  results  the  garden  should  be  planted  in 
long,  straight  rows  and  cultivated  once  a 
week  with  a  horse,  according  to  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  specialists.  If  this 
much  is  done  by  the  men  the  work  of  the 
women  will  be  materially  reduced.  The  care 
of  a  home  garden  is  not  hard  work  if  the 
fitting  of  the  land  and  the  main  part  of  the 
cultivation  is  done  with  horse-drawn  tools. 
Plan  the  farm  garden  right,  work  it  right,  and 
it  will  prove  the  most  profitable  piece  of  land 
on  the  farm. 


THrows 


The  Hardie  Orchard 

Gun  saves  your  time  and 
muscle — no  long,  heavy 
rods  to  hold. 

Turns  a  big  job  into  a  little 
one.  One  man  with  a  Hardie 
Gun  will  do  more  work  and 
do  it  better  than  two  men 
with  the  old-fashioned  rods. 

Hardie  Orchard  Gun  $12 

Low  price  made  possible  by 
big  production — send  for  the 
Hardie  Catalog  today.  Hardie 
Sprayers  and  spraying  de- 
vices standard  for  18  years. 


Eventually 

if  you  spray 
with  a  "gutf 
you  will 
get 

A 

HARDIE 


The  Hardie  Mfg.  Co. 

55  North  Front  Street,  Portland 


WHEN    WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  2p 


TlTlTlIlIlIlIlIlIlIlIJl^^^^^^ 


Handle  Things  by  Gravity 

EVERY  pair  of  hands  and  legs  you 
relieve  from  lugging,  wheeling  or 
hauling  crates,  barrels,  boxes,  etc.,  froro 
place  to  place,  immediately  becomes 
available  for  more  productive  work. 
And  when  you  do  that  costs  start  to 
drop ;  output  and  profits  increase. 

The  Mathews  steel  ball-bearing  Roll- 
er Conveyer  not  only  takes  the  place  of 
human  labor,  but  it  entails  no  expense 
for  power.    Gravity  operates  it! 

The  Mathews  carries  most  anything 
most  anywhere — over,  under  or  around 
obstacles,  or  straight-away.  Portable 
or  permanent  installation.  No  upkeep 
worth  mentioning;  never  goes  on  strike; 
demands  no  pay  envelope;  incurs  no 
power  bills ! 

Our  engineers'  suggestions  as  to  how 
and  where  the  Mathews  can  be  made 
profitable  to  you  cost  nothing.  Write. 


Packing,  warehoasi'n^  aticl  shipping ;  loading  and  unload- 
ing cars,  trucks  and  wagons — a!l  can  be  accomplished 
more  quickly  and  more  cheaply  with  the  Mathews  Gravity 
Conveyer.    A.  size  and  style  for  every  purpose. 


GRAVnYRO: 


CONVEYER 


MATHEWS  GRAVITY   CARRIER  CO. 

133  Tenth  Street,  Ellwood  City,  Pa. 
Cranch  Factories  :  Port  H  o  p  e,  O  n  t  a  r  i  o— L  on  d  on,  England 


What  They're  Doing  in  California 

SufRcient  water  for  the  coming  growing  sea- 
son is  reported  to  be  the  one  big  thing  that  is 
now  occupying  the  attention  of  the  farmers  and 
fruit  growers  of  California.  In  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley  not  only  farmers  and  fruit  growers,  but 
the  business  men  as  well  have  been  actively 
engaged  for  the  past  two  months  in  the  prelim- 
inary work  of  organizing  to  perfect  some  sys- 
tem of  conserving  and  increasing  the  under- 
ground supply  of  water  for  irrigation  pur- 
poses. 


Good  prune  orchards  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley  are  reported  to  be  still  holding  up  in 
price  and  $2,000  per  acre  is  the  figure  quoted 
for  good  producing  orchards.  Many  growers 
there,  it  is  stated,  have  refused  to  sell  at  this 
price.  Those  who  are  looking  into  fruitland 
prices  closely  in  California  say  that  whether 
such  values  can  be  maintained  depends  upon 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  coming  season's 
crop  and  the  base  price  to  be  fixed  by  the  Cali- 
fornia Prune  and  Apricot  Growers'  Association. 


The  diversity  of  fruit  and  vegetable  ship- 
ments from  some  of  the  districts  in  California 
make  interesting  reading.  As  an  instance: 
There  were  5731  carloads  of  products  shipped 
from  Turlock  during  the  year  1919,  which  is 
the  largest  in  its  history.  Cantaloupes  led  the 
list  with  2719  cars.  The  list  as  given  out  by 
the  two  railroads  is  as  follows:  Beans,  113 
cars;  barley,  98  cars;  cantaloupes,  2719  cars; 
canned  goods,  209  cars;  casabas,  296  cars; 
dried  fruit,  71  cars;  grain,  220  cars;  corn,  56 
cars;  grapes,  307  cars;  hay,  13  cars;  Honey 
Dew  melons,  41  cars;  livestock,  170  cars; 
peaches,  79  cars;  peach  pits,  3  cars;  Persian 
melons,  3  cars;  spinach,  9  cars;  sweet  potatoes, 
203  cars;  watermelons,  1037  cars;  miscella- 
neous, 84  cars. 

P.  J.  Dreher  was  recently  elected  president 
of  the  California  Fruit  Growers'  Exchange.  Mr. 
Dreher  has  been  identified  with  the  citrus  fruit 
industry  of  the  state  since  1886  and  was  one 
of  the  leaders  in  perfecting  the  system  now  in 
use  there  of  cooperative  marketing  of  citrus 
fruits. 


Realizing  the  strength  and  permanency  of 
the  California  Fruit  Growers'  Exchange  it  is 
reported  that  independent  citrus  fruit  opera- 


tors are  contemplating  an  organization  to  rep- 
resent them  in  their  operations  in  the  citrus 
fruit  belt.  This  move  is  said  to  be  due  to  the 
gradual  extension  of  the  cooperative  organiza- 
tion which  is  reported  to  be  handling  72  per 
cent  of  the  citrus  fruit  crop  of  California. 
One  of  the  features  which  the  independent 
organization  is  proposing  is  to  buy  the  fruit  it 
handles  on  a  spot  cash  basis. 

Wine  grape  growers  in  California  are  so  en- 
couraged over  the  success  attained  last  year 
in  drying  their  product  and  the  satisfactory 
prices  received  that  they  are  now  reported  to 
have  abandoned  the  idea  of  plowing  up  their 
vineyards.  Contracts  that  are  being  made  for 
wine  grapes  in  California  this  year  are  said  to 
run  as  high  as  $70  per  ton.  It  is  also  found 
that  by  blending  the  wine  grapes  with  some 
of  the  dark  red  and  purple  varieties  that  a 
juice  is  obtained  that  makes  a  high  grade 
commercial  grape  juice  drink  and  grape  syrup. 

Pacific  Coast  headquarters  for  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Entomology  were  opened  in 
Sacramento  this  week.  The  bureau  concen- 
trates its  attention  on  the  study  of  insect 
pests  that  infect  growing  crops.  Work  in 
California,  Nevada,  Oregon,  Washington,  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico  will  be  directed  from 
the  Sacramento  headquarters. 

Peach  growers  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  are 
expecting  $100  a  ton  for  this  year's  crop.  The 
highest  price  paid  last  year  was  $85. 

Bits  About  Fruit,  Fruitmen 
and  Fruit  Growing 

The  market  for  Northwestern  box  apples 
picked  up  during  the  past  month  and  showed 
a  much  stronger  tone,  but  the  car  shortage 
handicapped  shippers  and  prevented  as  large 
*a  distribution  of  fruit  as  the  market  was  will- 
ing to  take.  Indications  at  the  present  time  are 
that  the  stocks  of  box  apples  in  the  Northwest 
will  be  cleaned  up  at  satisfactory  figures  and 
that  cars  will  be  more  plentiful. 


According  to  a  recent  statement  of  Charles 
J.  Brand,  general  manager  of  the  American 
Fruitgrowers,  Inc.,  which  owns  large  holdings 
of  orchards  in  various  sections  of  the  country, 
the  olTicers  of  that  corporation  are  not  worry- 


ing about  the  future  success  of  the  apple  in- 
dustry. Mr.  Brand  says  that  the  company  he 
represents  has  faith  in  the  future  of  the  apple 
business  or  they  would  not  have  made  such 
large  investments  in  it.  Continuing  he  re- 
marked: "There  may  be  years  when  apples 
will  sell  at  less  than  the  cost  of  production, 
but  that  is  only  what  may  be  expected  in  any 
business.  Such  years  will  teach  us  to  organize 
our  productive  and  marketing  methods  upon  a 
more  efficient  and  economical  basis  and  prob- 
ably they  may  result  in  a  general  organization 
of  all  apple  growers  into  some  sort  of  an  asso- 
ciation for  the  protection  and  furtherance  of 
mutual  interests.  This  can  never  be  done  dur- 
ing prosperous  years;  hard  times  alone  will 
bring  producers  together  upon  this  kind  of  a 
basis." 

The  Joseph  J.  White  Company  of  Lisbon, 
N.  J.,  which  is  endeavoring  to  improve  the 
huckleberry  so  that  it  will  be  grown  and 
cultivated  the  same  as  other  bush  fruits,  an- 
nounces that  its  campaign  last-  year  to  secure 
fine  samples  of  these  berries  received  wide- 
spread attention.  Letters  of  inquiry  in  regard 
to  the  proposition  were  received  from  thirty- 
eight  different  states  and  also  from  Alaska  and 
Canada.  Over  one  hundred  samples  of  blue- 
berries were  received,  nearly  all  of  which  were 
smaller  than  those  produced  on  plants  already 
tried  and  discarded.  No  berries  of  the  re- 
quired size  were  sent,  but  one  plant  was  pur- 
chased for  $25.00.  This,  from  the  Province 
of  Quebec,  Canada,  had  berries  over  five- 
eighths  inches  in  diameter.  It  was  of  a  north- 
ern species  not  likely  to  be  of  value  in  New 
.Jersey,  but  was  especially  wanted  for  the 
breeding  work  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture.  The  offer  of  $50.00  for  a  blue- 
berry or  huckleberry  bush  with  berries  as 
large  as  a  cent  (three-quarters  inches  across) 
is  continued  this  summer.  Plants  with  berries 
of  this  size  are  needed  to  cross  with  such 
plants  already  found  in  New  Jersey.  If  they 
can  be  located  in  states  north  or  south  they 
will  make  possible  the  development  of  fine 
blueberries  with  a  greater  range  of  adaptabil- 
ity to  climate. 

While  imports  of  fruits  of  various  kinds 
are  being  brought  into  the  United  States  it  is 
something  of  an  innovation  to  know  that  quite 
a  large  quantity  of  dried  currants  from  Greece 
are  finding  their  way  to  the  ports  of  Uncle 


Page  so 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


Sam.  During  the  month  of  February,  accord- 
ing to  a  report  from  the  United  States  consul 
at  Patras,  1,500  tons  of  this  dried  fruit  valued 
at  over  $1,000,000  were  sent  to  America.  The 
total  amount  of  stock  for  shipment  at  that 
time  was  reported  to  be  10,000  tons,  a  large 
part  of  which  was  being  bought  by  American 
importers. 

The  amount  of  potash  produced  in  Germany 
during  1919  was  946,000  short  tons.  Two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four  thousand  tons  of  this 
amount  was  sold  abroad,  the  remainder  being 
retained  for  home  requirements. 


Cannery  Notes 

At  the  recent  meeting  of  the  Northwest  Can- 
ners'  Association  held  in  Portland,  J.  O.  Holt 
of  Eugene,  was  elected  president;  W.  G.  Allen 
of  Salem,  vice-president  and  D.  I.  Matthews 
of  Portland,  secretary-treasurer. 


The  Oregon  Public  Service  Commission  re- 
cently granted  the  A.  Rupert  Company,  Inc., 
permission  to  construct  a  spur  track  at  Falls 
City,  Oregon,  in  order  to  allow  the  company 
to  extend  its  shipping  operations. 


The  Rogue  River  Valley  Canning  Company 
of  Medford,  is  already  making  contracts  for 
the  1920  season's  pack  of  vegetables  and  all 
kinds  of  fruits. 


The  Washington  Dehydrating  Company, 
which  operates  plants  at  Yakima,  Grandview, 
Wenatchee  and  Walla  Walla,  handled  7,000 
tons  of  green  fruit  from  July  1,  1919  to  March 
1  of  the  present  year.  The  amount  paid  grow- 
ers for  fruit  was  over  $200,000. 


Fruits  and  vegetables  to  the  value  of  $40,000 
were  put  up  by  the  cannery  at  Ashland,  Ore- 
gon, during  the  past  season.  The  quantity  of 
product  canned  was  as  follows:  Tomatoes, 
200,000  pounds;  apples,  143,000  pounds; 
peaches,  125,000;  pears,  87,000;  plums,  15,000; 
beans,  14,418;  apricots,  4,418;  cherries,  2,150; 
pumpkin,  2,500.  The  number  of  cans  of  all 
sizes  used  was  about  120,000,  of  which  over 
50,000  were  gallon  containers. 


According  to  cannerymen  the  price  of  canned 
goods  will  be  higher  this  year  than  last.  The 
high  prices  of  fresh  fruit  and  high  labor 
costs  are  given  as  the  reasons. 

The  plan  to  consolidate  the  Lewis  County 


cannery,  located  at  Chehalis,  Washington,  with 
the  Puyallup  and  Sumner  Fruitgrowers'  Can- 
ning Company  has  been  abandoned  and  the 
plant  will  be  operated  during  the  coming 
season  as  an  independent  local  company.  A 
number  of  prominent  business  men  in  the 
county  have  become  interested  in  the  concern 
which  has  been  placed  under  the  management 
of  Dan  W.  Bush. 


Construction  work  has  been  started  on  a 
new  $40,000  cannery  at  Stockton,  California. 
The  plant  will  employ  about  350  workers  and 
expects  to  handle  2,000  tons  of  green  fruit 
and  to  pack  2,000  tons  of  grapes  and  dried 
fruit.  The  new  plant  will  be  completed  in 
time  to  start  the  season  with  the  cherry  crop. 


Although  there  are  now  38  fruit  and  vege- 
table canneries  in  San  Jose  and  other  sec- 
tions of  Santa  Clara  County,  California,  mak- 
ing it  the  fruit  canning  center  of  that  state, 
extensive  additions  are  being  made  to  several 
of  the  plants  in  order  to  take  care  of  an  ex- 
pected large  increase  in  the  business  this  year. 


Sacramento  Valley  canneries  started  putting 
up  spinach  on  March  9.  The  crop  is  excep- 
tionally large. 

Many  Tractors  Sold  at  Hood  River. 

The  Hood  River  Glacier  notes  that  the 
interest  of  orchardists  in  tractors  as 
motive  power  for  their  industry  is  at 
high  pitch  here.  Since  the  first  of  the 
year  a  total  of  32  tractors  has  been 
sold  at  Hood  River.  The  sales  reported 
are  as  follows:  Cletracs,  15;  Fordsons, 
9;  Case,  3;  Fageol,  3,  and  International 
Harvester  Co.,  2.  Dealers  declare  that 
sales  would  have  been  heavier  to  date, 
had  more  machines  been  available. 

Roads  to  Be  Lined  With  Trees. 

Through  the  generosity  and  public 
spirit  of  the  Washington  Nursery  Com- 
pany the  principal  roads  leading  into 
the  town  of  Toppenish,  Wash.,  are  to 
be  lined  with  hardwood  shade  trees. 
The  trees  which  were  donated  by  the 
nursery  company  consist  of  several 
hundred  walnuts,  elms  and  maples  and 
will  be  planned  by  the  local  commer- 
cial club. 

The  Straw^berry  Weevil. 
The  New  Jersey  Experiment  Station 
says  the  strawberry  weevil  can  be 
fought  off  by  dusting  the  plants  as  the 
buds  appear.  The  dust  is  composed  of 
one  part  dry  arsenate  of  lead  and  five 
parts  powdered  sulphur.  This  does 
not  kill  all  the  weevils,  but  drives  them 
away. 

Cheesecloth  bags,  the  naked  hand  and 
other  devices  were  used  by  growers  in 
New  Jersey  who  did  not  care  to  buy 
the  powder  gun,  but  to  Tony  Rizotte  be- 
longs the  honor  of  evolving  the  most 
ingenious  hand  device  for  sifting.  He 
covered  a  common  wire  horse  muzzle 
with  one  thickness  of  copper  mosquito 
netting  and  drew  the  edges  up  to  the 
rim.  The  inventor  then  bent  a  3-foot 
hickory  sapling,  fastening  it  to  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  rim.  This  served  as  a 
handle  by  which  the  improvised  basket 
filled  with  the  powder  could  be  twirled 
with  more  or  less  force,  depending  on 
the  width  of  the  rows. 

Planting  the  Peach  and  Plum. 

As  soon  as  the  trees  are  set  out  cut 
back  the  tops.  Peaches  and  plums 
should  be  headed  18  inches  from  the 
ground  and  apples  and  pears  32  inches. 
Young  trees  require  the  best  of  care  and 
cultivation.  Practice  frequent  cultiva- 
tion during  the  summer  and  plant  a 
cover  crop  in  the  early  autumn. 


=    |!"i"""i""i">"i""">"iii"i"niiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiinmiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiin   iiiiiiiiiiii:  = 

II  CONSUITING  \l 
II    HORTICULTURIST  II 


PROFESSOR  W.  S.THORNBER 

Formerly 

HEAD  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  HORTICULTURE 
AND  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING 

Later 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE  EXTENSION  SERVICE 

OF  THE 

STATE  COLLEGE  OF  WASHINGTON 


WILL  ADVISE  with  fruit-growers  upon  all  horticultural 
problems,  including  selection  and  preparation  of  orchard 
lands;  propagation  and  care  of  nursery  stock;  planting  and  care 
of  young  orchards  and  small  fruit  plantations;  the  control  of 
codling  moth,  San  Jose  scale,  blight  and  other  orchard  pests;  the 
preparation  of  lime-sulphur  at  home  and  the  mixing  of  other 
sprays;  economical  orchard  management;  the  irrigation  and 
fertilization  of  orchard  lands;  the  use  of  cover-crops  and  grass 
mulches;  the  pruning  of  fruit  trees,  shade  trees,  shrubs,  bushes 
and  vines;  the  renovation  of  old  or  neglected  orchards,  top- 
working  or  replacing  of  poor  or  unprofitable  trees,  and  the 
examining  and  the  working  out  of  practical  management  plans 
for  large  orchards  and  orchard  companies. 

If  your  orchard  has  not  been  a  financial  success,  and  you 
wish  to  determine  its  possibilities  or  you  wish  to  improve  your 
orchard,  reduce  your  losses  and  increase  your  returns  I  will 
assist  you  in  working  out  your  problem. 

WRITE  FOR  TERMS 

W.  S.THORNBER 

LEWISTON,  IDAHO 


=   siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii  iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiii  iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiK  = 

liiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiniHiiniiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN 

WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  31 


Fig'Kt  Film 

To  Save  Your  TeetH 

All  Statements  Approved  by  High  Dental  Authorities 


The  Science  of  Dehydration 

(From  California  Cultivator,  March  13, 1920) 

What  is  dehydration?  We  asked  Dr. 
Clements  of  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment of  the  Los  Angeles  Chamber  of 
Commerce  this  question  and  he  an- 
swered: 

"Dehydration  means  the  reduction  of 
organic  materials  to  a  desiccated  condi- 
tion without  alteration  of  cellular 
structure  or  chemical  change.  In  other 
words,  the  elimination  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  water  content." 
.  In  addition,  Dr.  Clements  said: 

"Two  years  ago,  while  under  stress 
of  war,  the  British  government  made 
some  interesting  and  very  successful 
tests  in  the  dehydration  of  berries  and 
other  highly  colored  fruits  and  vege- 
tables in  an  atmosphere  of  nitrogen, 
but  the  process  was  far  too  expensive 
to  be  utilized  in  general  manufacture. 
The  object  of  the  British  government  at 
that  time  was  to  overcome  the  enor- 
mous cost  of  $3,000  per  car  Los  Angeles 
to  Port  Sarnia — recognizing  that  one 
carload  of  dehydrated  berries  would 
be  the  equivalent  of  20  carloads  of  the 
fresh  iced  material,  the  strawberries 
having  been  frozen  in  barrels  and  kept 
so  until  ready  for  preserving.  I  might 
add  that  the  expense  through  dehydra- 
tion in  nitrogen  was  much  greater  than 
the  13,000  under  icing. 

"The  necessity  for  this  neutral  at- 
mosphere is  due  to  the  coloring  matter 
of  all  fruits  and  vegentables  being  iron 
and  iron  salts,  and  to  the  instability  of 
their  chemical  formation  and  suscepti- 
bility to  oxygen  and  ozone.  In  any  de- 
hydration, either  electrical  or  otherwise 
in  which  there  is  vibration  or  artificial 
wind  drafts,  the  excess  of  oxygen,  and  a 
still  more  deleterious  product — ozone — 
results  in  the  blanching  of  the  product. 

"The  International  people  seem  to 
have  stumbled  upon  this  one  principle 
accidentally — the  use  of  carbonic  acid 
gas,  being  a  by-product  of  simple  com- 
bustion in  the  creation  of  heat  within 
the  deshydration  plant  itself,  carbonic 
acid  gas  being  so  much  heavier  than 
the  normal  atmosphere,  forces  it  to  the 
top  of  the  container  and  excludes  any 
possibility  of  ozone  or  excess  of  oyxgen. 
Another  item  of  interest  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  the  humidor  principle,  which 
has  been  accepted,  lock,  stock  and  bar- 
rel, by  the  United  States  government  in 
the  kiln  drying  of  all  woods  necessary 
to  the  airplane.  The  humid  atmosphere 
moistening  the  superstructure  or  en- 
velope of  the  material  to  be  dehydrated 
stimulates  capillary  attraction,  making 
release  of  retained  moisture  even,  and 
a  uniform  product  results. 

"This  makes  a  very  complicated  prob- 
lem and  places  dehydration  directly  in 
the  hands  of  the  chemist  and  biologist." 


Import  Many  Pounds  of  Filberts. 

During  the  year  of  1919,  3,778,985 
pounds  of  shelled  and  16,767,304  pounds 
of  unshelled  filberts  were  imported  into 
the  United  States.  The  value  of  these 
nuts  was  over  $7,500,000.  The  heaviest 
importation  of  filberts  was  from  Italy, 
which  furnished  over  14,000,000  pounds. 


It  is  Film  that  Ruins  Teeth 

This  is  why  brushed  teeth  discolor 
and  decay.  And  why  old  methods  of 
cleaning  have  proved  so  inadequate. 

Your  teeth  are  covered  with  a 
slimy  film.  It  clings  to  them,  enters 
crevices  and  stays.  That  film  is  the 
cause  of  most  tooth  troubles. 

The  tooth  brush  does  not  end  it. 
The  ordinary  dentifrice  does  not 
dissolve  it.  So,  month  after  month, 
that  film  remains  and  may  do  a 
ceaseless  damage. 

That  film  is  what  discolors  —  not 
the  teeth.  It  is  the  basis  of  tartar. 
It  holds  food  substance  which  fer- 
ments and  forms  acid.  It  holds  the 
acid  in  contact  with  the  teeth  to 
cause  decay. 


Millions  of  germs  breed  in  it. 
They,  with  tartar,  are  the  chief  cause 
of  pyorrhea.  Also  of  many  other 
troubles. 

Dental  science,  after  years  of 
searching,  has  found  a  way  to  com- 
bat that  film.  Able  authorities  have 
proved  the  method  by  many  careful 
tests.  And  now,  after  years  of  prov- 
ing, leading  dentists  all  over  America 
are  urging  its  daily  use. 

Now  Sent  for  Home  Tests 

For  home  use  this  method  is  em- 
bodied in  a  dentifrice  called  Pepso- 
dent.  And  a  lo-Day  Tube  is  sent 
without  charge  to  anyone  who  asks. 

Pepsodent  is  based  on  pepsin,  the 
digestant  of  albumin.  The  film  is 
albuminous  matter.  The  object  of 
Pepsodent  is  to  dissolve  it,  then  to 
day  by  day  combat  it. 

The  way  seems  simple,  but  for 
long  pepsin  seemed  impossible.  It 
must  be  activated,  and  the  usual 
agent  is  an  acid  harmful  to  the  teeth. 
But  science  has  discovered  a  harm- 
less activating  method.  And  millions 
of  teeth  are  now  cleaned  daily  in  this 
efficient  way. 

Let  a  ten-day  test  show  what  this 
new  way  means.  The  results  are 
important,  both  to  you  and  yours. 
Compare  them  with  results  of  old- 
time  methods  and  you  will  then 
know  what  is  best. 

Cut  out  the  coupon  now  so  you 
won't  forget. 


REG.U.S  ■ 


The  New- Day  Dentifrice 

Now  advised  by  leading  dentists.    Druggists  everywhere 
are  supplied  with  large  tubes. 


See  What  It  Does 

Get  this  10-Day  Tube.  Note 
how  clean  teeth  feel  after  using. 
Mark  the  absence  of  the  slimy 
film.  See  how  teeth  whiten  as 
the  fixed  film  disappears.  Learn 
what  clean  teeth  mean. 


Ten-Day  Tube  Free 

THE  PEPSODENT  COMPANY, 
Dept.  426,  1104  S.  Wabash  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 
Mail  10-Day  Tube  of  Pepsodent  to 

Name   

Address   

One  tube  to  a  family. 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


Page 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  1^20 


Soil  and  Climate  Big  Factors  in  Berry  Growing 

By  D.  E.  Towle,  Gresham,  Oregon 


THINKING  your  readers  would  be 
interested  in  learning  something  of 
the  possibilities  of  berry  farming  in 
Eastern  Multnomah  County,  especially 
in  the  territory  tributary  to  Gresham, 
I  concluded  to  ask  you  for  a  little  space. 
If  you  will  glance  at  the  county  map 
you  will  note  Gresham's  location,  some 
20  odd  miles  southeast  of  the  confluence 
of  the  Willamette  and  Columbia  rivers 
and  on  an  air  line  towards  Mt.  Hood. 
It  seems  that  nature  believes  in  special- 
izing and  providing  special  localities 
for  certain  products — to-wit,  Hood 
River  spells  apples;  Southern  Califor- 
nia Sunkist  oranges,  and  Gresham  ber- 
ries. Why?  Well,  there  is  a  reason 
and  it  can  be  expressed  in  two  words — 
soil  and  climate. 

The  soil  is  different  from  the  average 
soil  of  the  coast  country,  being  a  mix- 
ture of  volcanic  ash  and  Columbia 
river  sand  forming  a  soil  that  is  easily 
tilled,  very  fertile  and  being  underlaid 
with  a  water-bearing  sand,  the  soil  is 
sub-irrigated  and  with  good  cultivation 
holds  an  ample  supply  of  moisture  to 
mature  the  finest  quality  of  strawber- 
ries, raspberries  and  loganberries  in 
the  driest  seasons.  There  is  also  an- 
other peculiar  local  factor  that  helps 
to  bring  the  berries  to  their  high  stand- 
ard of  perfection  which  in  time  will 
give  them  a  world  reputation  for  qual- 
ity. It  is  that  life-giving  sea  breeze  that 
naturally  rolls  up  the  Columbia  river 
during  the  summer  season  and  spreads 
out  over  this  favored  locality.  To  con- 
vince yourself  of  this,  please  take  an- 
other look  at  the  map,  and  knowing  as 
you  do  that  the  prevailing  summer  wind 
is  from  the  Northwest,  please  draw  a 
line  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
river  in  a  southeast  direction  and  you 
will  be  convinced  that  Gresham's  berry 
territory  gets  the  sea  breeze  direct. 

I  have  briefly  outlined  the  reason  for 
our  success  in  berry  growing  in  soil 
and  climate.  The  third  reason  is  intelli- 
gence and  industry  by  the  farmer  and 
then  success  is  assured.  This  opinion 
is  based  on  six  years  of  observation  and 
experience.  The  quality  of  the  berries, 
especially  raspberries  and  loganberries, 
is  admitted  as  being  superior  by  our 
leading  coast  canners.  The  berries  all 
come  to  full  maturity  with  good  culti- 
vation and  this  means  good  yields.  The 
raspberry  harvest  usually  extends  over 
a  six  weeks'  period.  So  you  can  see 
that  the  development  is  nearly  perfect. 
The  berries  all  mature,  and  the  last 
picking  yields  the  largest  berries.  The 
best  yields  I  know  of  are  four  tons  to 
the  acre,  three  tons  is  a  good  crop,  two 
tons  fair  and  less  poor.  The  picking 
cost  takes  about  one-third,  Cultivation 
costs  about  one-third  and  at  present 
values  this  leaves  a  good  rental  for  the 
land.  The  price  of  land  here  ranges 
from  $200  to  $500  per  acre.  This  price 
may  seem  high  but  good  berry  lands 
are  worth  more.  I  have  no  land  for 
sale  but  have  bought  some  very  recently 
and  it  is  not  for  sale. 

Berry  growing  in  this  territory  ap- 
peals equally  to  the  man  with  capital 


and  to  those  with  little  means.  The 
unit  holding  should  be  not  less  than 
five  acres  and  ten  acres  is  ideal  for  one 
man  to  operate  and  will  produce  a  good 
living  for  an  average  family.  Berry 
farming  is  not  heavy  work  and  is  spread 
out  well  over  the  year.  Cutting  out 
the  old  canes  and  pruning  can  be  done 
from  October  1st  to  April  1st,  and  the 
plowing,  cultivating  and  hoeing  during 
the  next  three  months,  then  the  harvest 
and  a  thirty-day  vacation  season  be- 
fore you  start  the  new  berry  year.  In 
addition  to  an  acreage  of  berries  we 
recommend  the  keeping  of  a  flock  of  100 
or  200  hens,  a  pig  and  a  cow.  The 
Gresham  territory  is  well  developed. 
We  have  a  large  mileage  of  hard  sur- 
faced roads  and  the  balance  of  the 
roads  are  good  the  year  around.  Elec- 
tricity is  available  in  most  of  the  ter- 
ritory for  light  and  power  purposes 
at  a  reasonable  price.  We  also  have 
city  gas,  telephones  and  special  daily 
paper  deliveries;  rural  mail  delivery, 
good  grade  schools,  a  central  Union 
High  school.  This  is  a  union  of  five 
rural  districts  with  Gresham.  We  have 
an  enrollment  of  225  students  and  a 
very  efficient  staff  of  instructors.  The 
studies  include  a  course  in  agriculture, 
manual  training  and  domestic  science. 
The  fact  is  your  child  graduating  from 
this  school  is  well  qualified  to  take  up 
any  line  of  work  except  the  profession. 
We  have  a  jitney  service  that  calls  for 
your  child  in  the  morning  and  returns 
it  safely  after  school.  Nearly  all  of 
the  different  religious  denominations 
are  organized  in  the  district.  To  enum- 
erate, Presbyterian,  Methodist,  Free 
Methodist,  Baptist,  Evangelical,  Luther- 
an, Catholic  and  Christian  Science,  and 
if  you  cannot  find  a  church  house  in 
these  enumerated  you  are  within  an 
hour's  ride  of  the  city  of  Portland  in 
which  all  sects  can  find  a  church  home. 
Gresham  has  an  hourly  electric  car 
service  to  Portland  and  also  an  auto  jit- 
ney service.  If  this  is  not  satisfactory 
use  your  own  car.  It  is  a  beautiful 
45-minute  drive.  Being  near  the  city  is 
no  mean  advantage  for  our  locality, 
especially  from  a  berry  grower's  stand- 
point, as  berries  must  be  picked  and 
we  look  to  Portland  for  the  pickers. 
Berry  picking  is  a  school  vacation-time 
job  and  affords  a  pleasant  and  profit- 
able camping  out  vacation  to  the  city 
women  and  boys  and  girls.  The  pick- 
ers express  their  delight  in  the  change 
from  the  restrictions  of  city  life  to  the 
freedom  and  pure  air,  sunshine  and 
shade  and  the  chance  to  commune  with 
nature.  Berry  picking  is  not  hard  work 
but  the  work  is  good  exercise.  The 
picker  is  benefitted  mentally  by  relaxa- 
tion, physically  by  the  exercise  and 
materially  by  the  cash  received. 

So,  Mr.  Editor,  to  sum  up  the  outlook 
for  berry  growers  in  the  Gresham  dis- 
trict, I  think  you  will  agree  with  me, 
that  the  future  prospect  is  really  bright 
as  the  combination  as  enumerated  is 
hard  to  beat.  First,  suitable  soil  and 
climate  for  production;  second,  a  qual- 
ity that  is  par  excellance  and  third,  the 


territory  adapted  to  these  products  is 
limited;  fourth,  being  near  the  city  in- 
sures the  harvest  help,  fifth,  we  have  a 
State  Growers'  Association,  a  State  Man- 
ufacturing Association  with  the  selling 
end  in  good  hands.  Sixth,  at  least  six 
large  going  concerns,  privately  owned, 
who  are  in  the  market  for  ten  times  the 
berry  product  obtainable.  Seventh, 
national  prohibition  and  a  substitute 
needed  without  a  kick.  Eighth,  we  have 
a  healthy  growers'  cooperative  associa- 
tion that  is  ready  to  help  the  newcomer 
and  will  try  to  steer  him  right  as  to 
location,  methods  of  culture,  etc. 

Now  a  last  word  to  the  prospective 
berry  grower.  If  you  are  convinced 
that  what  I  have  written  is  true  and  if 
you  are  interested  and  would  like  to 
better  your  circumstances  by  growing 
berries  or  if  you  are  not  sure  of  the 
truth  of  these  claims  made  for  this  ter- 
ritory, all  we  ask  you  to  do  is  to  come 
out  and  look  our  locality  over  and  sat- 
isfy yourself.  Personally,  I  have  no 
special  interest  in  your  welfare  but  I 
have  that  common  interest  in  commun- 
ity development  and  the  helping  of  ray 
fellowmen  that  prompts  the  writing  of 
this  article. 


Eveiything  for  the  Garden 


1920  160-page  Catalog  Free 
145  847  205  St.  PoR-rt.  AW  ■»  Om 


D-2  ' 


I  One  Man 
I  Alone  Handles 
I  Biggest  Stumps!  ( 


»end  No  Money! 

If  satisfied,  keep  puller.  If 
,  not  pleased,  return  at 
y  our  expense.  You  don't 
1  risk  a  penny.  Four 
easy  ways  to  pay, 

'fCirstin 


I  One-Man  Stump  Puller 

Weighs  less  —  costs  less  —  yet  has 

I-  greater  speed,  strength,  power.  Lasts 
Itynger!  3-year  guarantee  against  breait- 
age.  OnemaTiaioMepullsstubbornstumps 
in  few  minutes  at  low  cost,  due  to  won- 
derful leverage  principle.^  One  man  and 
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nearest  distributing  point  saves  time  and 
freight.  Write  for  FREE  BOOK  and 
Special  Agent's  Pronisition— tod""' 


"""^^^^^^^  Special  Agenc  s  rronnsitinn—i'H'^-- 

A. J.  KIRSTIW  CO.. 350E.Morrison St., Portland, On 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  33 


Pacific  Evaporator 


WANN  PATENTS 


Demonstration  Plant  will  be  Built  in  Oregon  in  Early  Summer 
Produces  Finest  Quality  of  Prunes,  Apples  and  Other  Fruits 


We  have  considered  the  problems  of  the  fruit 
growers  of  Oregon  and  are  preparing  to  demon- 
strate how  they  may  be  solved. 

AVe  expect  to  build  a  plant  of  commercial  capa- 
city in  the  heart  of  the  prune  district  of  Western 
Oregon  in  the  early  summer. 

Pacific  Evaporator  is  the  need  of  the  Oregon 
growers.  It  is  the  best '  in  the  market  and  will 
enable  you  to  produce  the  best  quality,  get  the 
maximum  quantity  and  insure  success. 

You  can  build  your  own  evaporator. 

Right  to  build  and  operate,  including  plans  and 
specifications,  are  for  sale  by  Pacific  Evaporator 
Company.   Write  for  detailed  information. 

With  these  directions  and  the  instruction  of  our 
superintendent,  who  will  come  to  your  ranch  and 
explain  to  you  or  your  contractor  how  to  proceed, 
you  can  build  for  yourself,  using  your  old  mate- 
rials, old  buildings,  surplus  lumber,  anything. 

The  construction  is  simple  and  inexpensive. 

Or  we  can  arrange  to  have  sent  to  you  a  com- 
plete unit  or  units,  practically  all  materials  cut  to 
size,  with  the  same  superintendence. 

The  heating  plant  will  take  almost  any  kind  of 
fuel— oil,  wood,  coal,  distillate.  The  complete  con- 
trol of  the  temperature  and  the  circulation  of  air 
through  the  drying  compartment  enables  the  oper- 
ator to  prevent  any  harm  to  product  under  course 
of  evaporation  by  holding  sufficient  humidity  or 
running  dry  air,  as  the  case  may  demand. 

We  would  advise  you  not  to  take  up  any  other 
plan  until  you  have  investigated  ours. 

If  you  will  write  now,  stating  variety  of  fruit 
and  tonnage,  we  will  give  you  an  estimate  of  your 
needs.  When  the  plant  is  built  in  Oregon  we 
will  notify  you  and  make  an  appointment  for  an 
inspection. 


Pacific  Evaporator  will  efficiently  dry  any  fruit 
or  vegetable. 

It  will  appeal  particularly  to  the  prune  men. 

We  recommend  it  to  the  numerous  growers  of 
Italian  prunes  in  Oregon. 

The  owners  of  Pacific  Evaporator  are  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  handling  of  the  Italian  prune. 
They  have  planted  several  orchards  in  California 
and  half  of  these  are  devoted  to  this  variety. 

Pacific  Evaporator  will  greatly  improve  the 
quality  of  your  product  and  increase  your  output. 

John  T.  Wann,  inventor  of  the  Pacific  Evapor- 
ator, was  raised  in  Oregon,  and  is  familiar  with  the 
needs  of  the  orchardists  of  that  state.  He  is  also 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  various  types  of 
evaporators  now  in  use  in  Oregon. 

Pacific  Evaporator  has  proved  successful  in  the 
prune  districts  of  California.  It  has  been  used  for 
years  and  has  proved  itself  capable  of  quality  pro- 
duction in  commercial  quantities. 

As  to  quality,  the  prune,  evaporated  by  this 
process,  has  proved  itself  superior  to,  and  has  sold 
at  a  premium  over  the  famous  sun-dried  fruit  of 
California. 

Pacific  Evaporator  will  give  you  a  product  that 
will  command  premium  prices  and  the  expense  will 
be  less  to  you  than  by  any  other  method. 

Professor  W.  V.  Cruess  of  the  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station,  University  of  California,  speak- 
ing of  evaporators  and  their  advantages  at  a  fruit 
growers'  convention  in  Chico,  said: 

"The  most  beautiful  dried  prunes  that  have  ever 
come  to  my  attention  were  dried  by  the  Wann 
brothers  of  Healdsburg." 

The  prunes  to  which  he  referred  had  been  dried 
by  the  evaporator  invented  by  John  T.  Wann,  now 
known  as  Pacific  Evaportor. 


Write  to  Our  Office  and  Give  Us  Your  Requirements 

Pacific  Evaporator  Company 


WANN  PATENTS 


ROBERT  C.  NEWELL,  WM.  C.  MURDOCH,  JOHN  T.  WANN,  427  First  National  Bank  Building 

SAN  FRANCISCO 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  34 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  Ip20 


Insects  and  Diseases  of  the  Loganberry 

By  W.  S.  Brown,  Chief  of  the  Division  of  Horticulture,  Oregon  Agricultural  College 


THE  loganberry  is  not  affected  by 
many  serious  insect  pests.  The 
three  that  seem  to  do  the  most  damage 
are  the  raspberry  cane  maggot,  the  leaf 
hopper,  and  the  raspberry  rootborer. 

The  cane  maggot  causes  the  cane  to 
wilt  or  droop.  A  careful  examination 
will  disclose  a  bluish  ring  just  under 
the  bark  near  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
The  cane  should  be  cut  off  just  below 
this  ring  and  destroyed.  This  will  kill 
the  maggots  working  within. 

The  leaf  hoppers  are  sucking  insects. 
They  do  their  damage  by  sucking  out 
plant  juices  from  the  leaves  and  young 
canes.  They  should  be  attacked  while 
young  or  in  the  nymph  stage.  They 
may  be  killed  by  some  contact  remedy 
such  as  whale-oil  soap,  one  pound  to 
ten  gallons  of  water;  kerosene  emulsion 
10  per  cent  solution;  or  a  mixture  of 
Black-leaf  40,  one-half  pint,  plus  four 
pounds  of  whale-oil  soap,  to  100  gallons 
of  water. 

The  root  borer,  when  present,  causes 
the  infested  plant  to  become  yellowed 
and  the  berries  to  be  small  and  seedy. 
Two  years  are  required  for  the  borer  to 
mature.  The  first  season  it  attacks  the 
young  canes,  girdling  them  near  the 
surface  of  the  soil.  The  injured  canes 
may  be  readily  observed  in  late  sum- 
mer, lying  flat  on  the  ground  with  the 
foliage  wilted.  With  a  heavy  pair  of 
gloves  the  injured  cane  can  be  given  a 
twist  that  will  break  it  off  at  the  girdle. 
In  most  cases  the  borer  will  remain  in 
the  detached  cane,  which  should  be  re- 
moved from  the  field. 

The  most  serious  diseases  are  the 
crown  gall,  mushroom  root  rot,  and 
anthracnose.  When  affected  by  crown 
gall  the  plants  gradually  turn  yellow 
and  lose  their  vigor.  By  a  careful  ex- 
amination corky  swellings  will  be 
found  on  the  roots,  usually  near  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  but  often  on  the 
smaller  roots.  This  trouble  occurs  very 
frequently  as  a  swelling  or  canker 
along  the  side  of  the  cane. 

Mushroom  root  rot  is  a  fungous 
trouble  which  attacks  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  finally  causing  their  death.  The 
disease  grows  on  old  tree  roots  and 
stumps,  and  is  more  apt  to  affect  plants 
set  out  on  newly  cleared  land.  When 
affected  with  either  of  the  above  dis- 
eases, the  plants,  with  their  roots, 
should  be  removed  at  once  and  burned. 
No  new  plants  should  be  set  in  their 
places  before  three  years  have  elapsed. 

A  fungous  disease  called  anthracnose 
seems  to  have  done  more  damage  to  the 
loganberry  than  any  other  trouble  in 
the  state.  It  is  a  disease  causing  light- 
ish-gray spots  to  appear  on  the  leaves 
and  canes  of  the  plant,  and  may  attack 
the  drupelets  of  the  fruit,  also,  causing 
them  to  turn  a  light  gray  color.  Or- 
dinarily this  disease  can  be  kept  under 
control  by  carefully  cutting  out  the  old 
vines  after  fruiting  and  burning  them. 
If  at  this  time  some  of  the  new  canes 
are  found  to  be  infested  seriously  they 
should  be  thinned  out,  also.  When  the 
infection    becomes    serious,  spraying 


with  bordeaux  mixture  4-4-50  is  recom- 
mended. The  mixture  is  best  applied 
with  a  resin  fish-oil  sticker,  to  improve 
the  sticking  and  spreading  qualities  of 
the  bordeaux.  The  first  application 
should  come  about  the  time  the  first 
leaves  have  attained  good  size.  The 
second  spraying  should  be  applied  just 
before  the  blossoms  open  and  the  third 
may  be  put  on  about  the  end  of  summer. 


in  case  new  infections  begin  to  make 
their  appearance  on  the  young  canes 
and  foliage.  To  protect  the  fruit,  some 
colorless  mixture,  like  Burgundy  mix- 
ture, should  be  applied  about  two  weeks 
after  the  petals  fall.  The  resin  fish-oil 
sticker  should  be  used  with  this  also. 
The  formula  for  Burgundy  mixture  is 
as  follows:  Two  pounds  copper  sul- 
phate (bluestone),  three  pounds  sodium 
carbonate  (washing  soda)  and  100  gal- 
lons of  water.  Mix  each  of  the  chemi- 
cals separately  with  water  before 
bringing  them  together. 


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job  it  used  to  be,  thanks  to  modern  con- 
veniences— and  Ghirardelli's  Ground 
Chocolate.  Besides,  the  **Ghirardelli 
breakfast"  is  not  only  much  easier  to 
prepare,  but  it's  also  more  wholesome, 
more  nutritious,  more  sustaining! 
,Ghirardelli's  is  food  and  drink  both! 

Never  sold  in  bulk — but  in  cans  only. 
In  -V^  lb.,  1  lb.  and  3  lb.  sealed  cans— 
at  the  store  where  you  do  your  trading. 


Say  Gear-ar-delly 


Since  1852 


D.  GHIRARDELLI  CO. 


San  Francisco 


(F6) 


GHIRARDEUIS 

Ground  Chocolate 


PI  IIMr^m  TDirC'  DDIIKim       the  missing  link  in  the 
rmnufcif  I  wCiCi  rwuwtii  orchard  pruning  equipment 

Three  times  as  speedy  as  the  saw.  Makes  smooth  cuts.  Operator  stands 
on  ground  to  perform  most  of  his  work.    Easy  to  keep  sharp. 

Write  for  circulars  and  prices.  d.  H.  WATTS,  Kerrmoor,  Pa. 


WHEN  WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  35 


YuB/l 

Orchardists  Say— 


I  bought  my  Yuba  because — 
**I  can  get  close  to  the  trees — 
*'It  turns  in  a  narrow  headland — 
**It  cultivates  at  high  speed — 
**It's  a  one-man  outfit — 
**It's  big  enough  for  a  subsoiler — 
I  can  work  right  after  irrigation- 


YUBA  MANUFACTURING  CO.,  433  California  St.,  San  Francisco 
Factories  :  Marysville  and  Benicia,  California 


IballtreadtraciorI 


Yuba  Products  Co. 

905  First  Ave., Spokane,  Wash. 


WHEN  WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION  BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  36 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ig20 


Department  of  Agriculture,  Etc. 

Continued  on  page  10. 

all  rooms  except  the  two  middle  rooms 
on  the  north  side,  which  were  equipped 
for  special  low  temperature  work  and 
have  two  inches  more  insulation  and 
correspondingly  heavier  doors.  A  brine 
coil  is  hung  on  one  side  of  each  room 
and  is  covered  with  a  baffle  board  open 
at  the  top  and  bottom  to  permit  the 
circulation  of  air  over  the  coil.  One 
section  of  this  baffle  board  is  hinged 
to  allow  access  to  the  coils.  Next  to 
this  block  of  finished  rooms  is  space 
for  four  more  rooms.  It  is  planned  to 
complete  these  in  the  near  future.  The 
handling  room  is  located  next  to  this 
space  and  is  equipped  with  tables  for 
sorting,  scales,  trucks,  and  the  various 
paraphernalia  of  a  cold  storage  plant. 
In  one  corner  of  this  room  is  the  ele- 
vator shaft. 

The  second  floor  is  divided  in  the 
same  general  way  as  the  first,  eight 
cold  storage  rooms  being  directly  over 
the  first  floor  rooms  and  the  unfinished 
storage  space  and  handling  room  occu- 
pying the  same  relation  to  the  storage 
rooms  as  in  the  first  floor  plan.  The 
space  over  the  engine  room,  42x26  ft.  is 
a  well-equipped  plant  physiological 
laboratory.  This  laboratory  is,  of 
course,  an  exceedingly  important  part 
of  the  equipment,  as  the  physiological 
aspects  of  storage  are  particularly  em- 
phasized in  the  work. 

The  importance  of  plant  physiologi- 
cal work  in  connection  with  cold  stor- 
age is  evident  when  it  is  considered 
that  most  fruits  and  vegetables  are 
stored  alive  and  the  problem  is  to  keep 
them  alive  and  in  an  attractive  condi- 
tion until  they  are  to  be  used.  The  de- 
termination of  the  best  condition  for 
storage  of  any  particular  fruit  or  vege- 
tables then  requires  a  study  of  the  life 
processes  which  go  on  in  it  after  it  is 
removed  from  the  tree  or  the  soil 
where  it  was  grown,  together  with  a 
study  of  the  eff'ect  of  the  various  en- 
vironmental conditions  obtaining  in  a 
storage  plant  upon  these  processes.  The 
harvesting  and  handling  of  the  produce 
before  storage  and  the  conditions  under 
which  it  is  grown  often  markedly  in- 
fluence the  storage  life.  These  factors 
must  be  considered  in  fundamental 
studies. 

There  are  a  number  of  problems  re- 
lating to  the  storage  of  fruits  and  vege- 
tables under  investigation  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  One  of  particular  interest  is 
the  determination  of  the  effect  of  freez- 
ing temperatures  on  various  kinds  of 
fruits  and  vegetables.  This  includes 
determining  the  actual  freezing  points 
of  the  tissue,  the  temperature  at  which 
frost  injury  occurs,  for  it  is,  of  course, 
possible  that  certain  fruits  or  vege- 
tables may  be  injured  by  low  tempera- 
tures without  the  tissue  actually  freez- 
ing, and  the  effect  of  freezing  on  the 
produce.  The  development  of  methods 
for  defrosting  and  methods  for  the  util- 
ization of  frozen  produce  are  also  un- 
der investigation. 

Another  problem  of  rather  wide  ap- 
plication under  investigation  is  the  ef- 
fect of  gases,  such  as  carbon  dioxide. 


carbon  monoxide,  and  the  various  gases 
given  off"  by  car  heaters,  on  fruits  and 
vegetables.  The  effect  of  varying  de- 
grees of  humidity  on  fruits  and  vege- 
tables is  also  receiving  considerable  at- 
tention. Other  problems  of  less  general 
interest  have  been  taken  up,  such  as 
the  cold  storage  of  celery,  and  the 
changes  which  take  place  during  stor- 
age in  grapefruit,  pears,  apples  and 
tomatoes. 


The  number  of  problems  under  in- 
vestigation at  any  one  time  is,  of 
course,  limited  by  the  size  of  the  staff 
and  the  funds  available.  An  effort  will 
be  made  to  take  up,  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible, the  problems  of  fundamental  im- 
portance to  the  cold  storage  of  fruits 
and  vegetables.  It  is  hoped  that  results 
of  value  both  to  the  producer  and  to 
the  cold  storage  industry  will  be  ob- 
tained in  this  plant. 


Put  WOOD-LARK  on  Guard 


Gophers  can't  resist  eating  WOOD -LARK;  eating  it  they  must  die. 
Sprinkle  WOOD -LARK  in  the  gopher  runs  now  and  stop  the  spring 
multiplying  of  these  destructive  pests. 


siiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiitiitiitititiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiMiniiiiiiiiiitiif^ 

j     /t^   WHAT  EVERY  HOME  CANNER  SHOULD  HAVE  1 

i  ey^M  "  1     (^NE  of  our  H.&  A.  Hand  Power  Double  Seamers.  = 

s  0  taa  It  is  the  only  hand  power  seamer  built  that  will  seal  all  = 
i  <^S_->  sizes  ot  sanitary  fruit  and  vegetable  cans.  Write  for  prices  § 
s  and  descriptive  matte^  to  Department  T.  § 

I     r-    HENNINGER  &  AYES  MFG.  CO.,  Portland,  Ore.  | 

i         ^  Builders  of  Seamen  and  Steam  Pressure  Canning  Outfits  i 

'iiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiliiiiiitiiiiiiiiliililiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii* 


MUSICAL 

WE  SAVE  YOU  MONEY! 

SHEET 

MERCHANDISE 

W.  Martius  Music  House  Inc. 

MUSIC 

WRITE 

1009  First  Avenue,  Seattle,  Washington 

WRITE 

US 

Everytiiing  Known  in  iVIusic 

US 

Are  you  helping  to  pay  the  $75,000,000  toll 
taken  from  the  growers  of  the  country  annually 
by  Jack  Frost?  The  Bolton  Heater  is 


Largest 
Bnd  Pipe 


slock  of  Surface  Irrigation  Pipe 
Equipemenl  on  the  Pacific  Coast 


The  Safest  Means  of 
Frost  Prevention 

Don't  experiment  with  makeshift  methods. 
Bolton  Orchard  Heaters  are  sure.  They  main- 
tain the  temperature,  distribute  the  heat  uni- 
formly, and  prevent  frost  damage. 

Send  for  Booklet  5 

Tells  you  all  about  frost  prevention.  Filled 
with  valuable  information  for  the  grower. 
W.  R.  AMES  CO., 


8th  and  Irwin  Streets 


San  Francisco,  Calif. 


WHEN    WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  37 


LAB  ELS  and  CARTONS 


Ikvorcd  and  used 

packers  of  fruits* 
and  canned  ^oods 


institution  that  sticks  to  its  las  f 

SAN  FRANCISCO-'STOCKTON-'SEArTLE 
Sales  Offices^Portland^Fresno 
Sacramento 


WHEN  WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION  BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  38 


The  Successful 
Man  Thinks 
Ahead 

The  man  who  wants  to  en- 
joy profits  tomorrow  must 
plan  for  them  today. 

Such  a  man  must  have 
adequate  banking  connec- 
tion. The  Ladd  &  Tilton 
Bank  is  equipped  by  experi- 
ence and  knowledge  of  mod- 
ern methods  to  be  of  value 
to  its  customers  in  any  phase 
of  business. 

LADD  &  TILTON  BANK 

Oldest  in  the  Northwest 
Portland,  Oregon 

Washington  and  Third 


Established  1882 


^  Company 

Printers 

WE  print  anything 
from  the  smallest 
to  the  largest  and  always 
welcome  orders  of  any 
size  or  quantity,  giving 
prompt,  personal  and 
efficient  service. 
Mail  or  phone  inquiries 
are  solicited.  We  do  not 
specialize  —  experience 
and  equipment  enable 
us  to  print  everything 
equally  well.  We  render 
service  in  preparing 
copy  and  illustrations 
and  furnish  plans  and 
estimates  for  catalogs, 
booklets,  publications, 
billboard  and  any  other 
kind  of  advertising. 

First  and  Oak  Streets 

Main  1 65;  Auto  51 1  -65 

Portland,  Oregon 


BETTER  FRUIT  Aprii^ip^o 

Dusting  and  the  Spray  Gun,  Etc.  thrown  into  the  top  of  the  trees  only 

Continued  from  page  8.  ^  ^^w  of  the  calyx  ends  will  receive 

T  J-        XI  ,1  much  spray  and  these  will  be  decidedly 

Low  pressure  from  these  small  ca-  spotted 

pacity  outfits  does  not  produce  a  spray  summarizing  then,  the  successful 
of  the  proper  consistency  to  accom-  ^j^^  depends  almost 
phsh  a  satisfactory  coating.  The  li-  ^^^^^^^  t^e  manner  in  which  the 
quid  leaves  the  gun  in  a  coarse,  splat-  broken  up.  A  pressure  of  250 
tering  stream  There  is  no  fineness  of  ^^^^^  ^  j  delivers  a 
division  of  the  particles  and  the  only  beautiful  spray  from  two  guns.  This 
way  that  a  tree  can  possibly  be  covered  gj^ount  of  pressure  on  a  small  outfit 
IS  to  drench  and  thereby  waste  much  ^^^^  produce  the  same  sort  of  spray, 
material.  As  I  have  said  before,  it  is  my  ^^^^^  j^^^^  ^^^^^  ^i^j^  ^  31/^ 
behef  that  finely  divided  spray  which  ^orse  power  outfit  to  approach  this 
has  much  the  same  consistency  of  the  t^en  it  is  nowhere  nearly  as 
dust  particles,  which  control  calyx  g^^^.  I  am  not  sufficiently  versed  in 
worms  operates  in  the  case  of  properly  mechanics  to  explain  just  why  this  dif- 
apphed  liquid  solutions.  If  this  spray  is  ference  occurs.  Nevertheless  there  is  a 
not  broken  up  into  a  light  drifting  mist  difference  and  anyone  who  will  handle 
the  principal  of  calyx  worm  control  is  t^e  delivery  from  the  small  and  large 
destroyed  and  poor  results  are  bound  ^an  immediately  feel  the  differ- 
to  follow.  There  IS  no  possible  chance  gn^e  in  the  "life"  of  the  spray.  I  am 
of  obtaining  much  calyx  protection  in  ^ot  conducting  a  propaganda  for  any 
tops  of  trees  with  a  gun  throwing  a  Q^e  large  type  of  sprayer,  unfortunately 
coarse  splattering  spray.  This  might  at  the  present  time  there  is  only  one  on 
possibly  be  accomphshed  from  a  tower,  the  market.  Our  other  sprayer  manu- 
Gravity  is  the  factor  which  allows  the  facturing  companies  must  bring  up  their 
poison  to  reach  the  calyx  ends  of  the  standards  if  they  are  to  meet  the  de- 
uppermost  apples.  The  spray  material  mands  of  the  orchardists  for  there  will 
must  be  placed  there  in  the  proper  con-  be  a  very  great  demand  for  these  dur- 
dition  and  in  sufficient  amounts  to  ing  the  next  few  years.  With  the  com- 
effect  a  coating  as  it  falls.  A  coarse  ing  of  increased  facilities  for  proper 
spray  goes  up  in  large  droplets  and  spraying  I  firmly  believe  that  we  will 
comes  down  in  much  the  same  form;  see  a  marked  improvement  in  our  cod- 
a  large  portion  passing  over  the  tree  in  ling  moth  control  and  a  yearly  saving 
the  form  of  an  arc.  Unless  a  very  ex-  which  will  amount  to  many  thousands 
cessive  amount  of  spray  material  is  of  dollars. 

TABLE  1— RELATION  OF  SIDE  WORMS  TO  CALYX  WORMS. 
Hood  River,  Oregon,  1917,  1918  and  1919. 

1917  Total  Percent  Percent  Relation  of  Side 

Per  cent  Side  Calyx  to  Calyx  Worms 

Exp.  No.  How  .ipplied  Worm.t  Worms  Worms  in  percentages 

1.  Last  dust  spray  omitted   12.96  9.28  3.68  71.6   to  28.4 

2.  Dust    applications   5.37  5.00  .37  92.99  to  7.01 

3.  Last  rods   spray  omitted   14.33  10.54  3.79  73.55  to  26.44 

4.  Rods    1.43  1.14  .28  80.00  to  20.00 

5.  Check    65.13  20.62  44.51  31.68  to  68.32 

1918 

6.  Dust    2.68  2.54  .14  94.7   to  5.2 

7.  Liquid    (gun)   44  .44  .00  100.00  to  .00 

8.  Check    17.64  12.9  4.7  73.29  to  26.7 

1919 

9.  Rods  in  calyx,  gims  in  others   2.39  2.05  .34  85.74  to  14.28 

10.  Gun,  all  sprays    2.27  1.91  .35  84.24  to  15.71 

11.  Rods,  all  sprays    3.41  3.12  .29  91.64  to  8.54 

12.  Guns,  1  to  12  feet  high   1.08  .99  .09  90.9   to  9.0 

13.  Guns,  12  feet  to  tree  top   5.1  4.2  .9  81.13  to  18.86 

14.  Check  (unsprayed)   53.6  24.2  29.4  45.16  to  54.83 

Note — 1917,  five  standard  sprays  applied  unless  otherwise  stated;  1918,  four  standard  sprays 
applied;  1919,  five  standard  sprays  applied. 

In  experiment  12,  fruit  separated  from  ground  to  12  feet.  Experiment  13,  from  12  feet  to 
tops  of  trees. 


HOW  ABOUT  YOUR  TREES 

FOR  SPRING  PLANTING? 

We  grow  and  "sell  direct  to  planters,"  through  our  representatives, 
a  full  list  of  Fruit  Bearing  Trees,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees,  Nut 
Trees,  Bush  Fruits,  Roses,  Vines,  etc.  You  are  not  likely  to  want 
any  good  variety  that  we  do  not  grow. 

Have  You  Arranged  for  Your  Loganberries, 
Strawberry  Plants,  or  Italian  Prune  Trees? 

Orenco  Trees  are  known  throughout  the  Northwest  for  their  real  value  to  the 
planter — their  early  fruiting  and  dependability.  If  you  want  value  in  trees  for  your 
money  you'll  always  plant  "Orenco  Trees."  Clf  you  have  not  provided  for  the  nurs- 
ery trees  you  need,  why  not  do  it  now — while  you  have  the  matter  in  mind.  If  you 
don't  know  just  what  you  want,  we'll  send  you  our  beautiful  and  serviceable  catalog, 
from  which  to  make  your  selection.  Just  send  five  cents  in  stamps  for  postage. 


!  OREGON  NURSERY  COMPANY,  Orenco,  Oregon 


I 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  3p 


Brighter  days  and  better  ways  are  ahead  for  firms  installing  a  Standard  Conveying  System  for 
the  rapid  and  economical  indoor  transportation  of  apples  and  fruit  in  the  fruit-packing  industry. 

WHat  We  Have 
for  You: 


Standard  portable  Gravity  roller  conveyors  for  the  rapid 
and  economical  movement  of  boxed  and  cased  fruit. 

Standard  automatic  elevators  for  the  elevating  of  boxed  and 
cased  merchandise. 

Standard  Gravity  spiral  chutes  to  lower  your  empty  cases 
and  filled  boxes  of  fruit  from  upper  to  lower  floors. 

A  Standard  Combination  System  for  the  indoor  transpor- 
tation of  your  fruit  in  the  course  of  receiving,  packing,  boxing 
and  shipping. 

Wherever— Whatever  your  handling  problems  are,  there  is 
a  Standard  Service  within  immediate  reach. 

Get  in  immediate  communication  with  our  representative 
in  your  district  and  have  I  him  become  your  conveying- efficiency 
assistant  in  planning  with  you  a  Standard  System  to  meet  your 
specific  needs. 

Write  for  catalog  for  the  fruit-packer. 

Standard  Conveyor  Company 

Formerly  Minnesota  Manufacturers'  Association 

North  St.  Paul,  Minnesota 

Representatives  in  Jill  Principal  Cities 


Washington,  Oregon  and  Montana  Representatives: 

D.  E.  Fryer  &  Co. 

Main  Office— Seattle,  Washington 

Branch  Offices — Spokane,  Washington 
Tacoma,  Washington 
Butte,  Montana 
Portland,  Oregon 


California  Representatives 
Bannon-Bodinson  &  Maclntyre,  San  Francisco,  California 
Hazard-Gould  &  Co.,  San  Diego,  California 
M.  E.  Canfiek],  Los  Angeles,  California 

Colorado  Representative 
Mountain  States  Machinery,  Denver,  Colorado 
Utah  Representative 
Hawley-Richardson-Williams,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  40 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


'Til  Tell  the  World" 

says  the  Good  Judge 

The  man  who  doesn't 
chew  this  class  of  to- 
bacco is  not  getting 
real  satisfaction  out  of 
his  chewing. 

A  small  chew.  It  holds 
its  rich  taste.  You  don't 
have  to  take  so  many 
fresh  chews.  Any  man 
who  uses  the  Real  To- 
bacco Chew  will  tell 
you  that. 

Put  Up  In  Two  Styles 

RIGHT  CUT  is  a  short-cut  tobacco 

W-B  CUT  is  a  long  fine-cut  tobacco 


Weyman-Bru;tQh:"©ompa     1107i  Broadway/  New  .y^ 


"Red  Crown"  is  all- 
refinery  gasoline  — 
with  full  power  in 
every  drop.  It  is  made 
to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  your  en- 
gine. Look  for  the 
"Red  Crown'*  sign 
before  you  fill. 

STANDARD  OIL  COMPANY 

(California) 


^he  Gasoline  of  Quality 


Apples  and  Pears 

For  European  Distribution 


! 


Gerald  Da  Coeta 

Long  Acre,  Covent  Garden,5London 

Cables:  "Geracost,  London."   Codes:  A.  B.  C.  5th  Edition  and  Private 


Growing  and  Culture  of  Almonds 

Continued  from  page  6. 

and  in  the  lower  lands,  form  the  heav- 
ier soils. 

The  various  conditions  mentioned 
above  are  what  the  tree  should  have  for 
best  conditions  of  growth  and  produc- 
tion. Oftentimes  these  conditions  may 
be  approached  without  the  soil  being 
as  deep  as  ten  or  twelve  feet.  Excep- 
tions to  this  will  be  mentioned  in  dis- 
cussing the  various  almond  districts  of 
the  state.  It  is  essential  to  understand 
that  trees,  while  growing  and  bearing 
on  shallow  soils  in  some  localities,  do 
so  because  of  other  exceptionally  favor- 
able conditions;  either  the  soil  is  ex- 
ceptionally well  drained  and  yet  suffi- 
ciently retentive  of  moisture,  or  the  hu- 
mus in  the  soil  is  plentiful  and  the  roots 
are  able  to  work  into  the  underlying 
partially  decomposed  rock  for  moisture 
and  some  plant  food.  In  such  localities 
the  trees  bear  comparatively  well  be- 
cause of  the  exceptional  freedom  from 
frost  in  the  spring.  Trees  in  these  lo- 
calities are  generally  smaller  than  on 
the  deeper,  richer  soils,  and  where 
other  conditions  are  equal,  they  bear 
crops  in  proportion  to  their  size. 

Almond  Districts 
Almonds  are  grown  in  nearly  every 
county  in  California.  In  some  counties 
the  few  trees  growing  only  occasionally 
succeed  in  producing  a  crop  of  nuts. 
There  are  sections  in  nearly  all  parts 
of  the  state,  however,  where  they  are 
a  success  commercially.  Within  these 
sections  may  be  found  desirable  and  un- 
desirable locations,  depending  upon  soil 
and  moisture  conditions  and  freedom 
from  injurious  frosts.  Any  discussion 
of  a  district,  therefore,  does  not  neces- 
sarily mean  that  all  lands  within  that 
district  are  uniformly  adapted  to  al- 
mond culture.  On  this  account  it  is 
impossible  to  define  a  district  any  more 
closely  than  to  name  the  center  and  in- 
clude with  it  the  outlying  districts.  In 
the  same  way  it  is  sometimes  impossible 
to  say  just  where  one  district  begins 
and  another  ends.  Adaptability  of  any 
special  location  can  be  determined  only 
by  careful  study  of  the  land  itself  and 
diligent  inquiry  of  those  familiar 
with  it. 

As  far  as  possible,  districts  should  be 
chosen  where  a  definite  cold  winter 
season  exists.  Warm  weather  and  lack 
of  freezing  temperatures  do  not  hold 
the  trees  fully  dormant  and  any  fre- 
quent occurrence  or  unusual  continua- 
tion of  spring  weather  in  the  winter 
will  start  the  trees  into  growth;  cooler 
weather  following,  interferes  with  the 
normal  flow  of  sap,  results  in  injury  to 
the  tree  and  blossoms,  and  often  causes 
gumming  of  the  nuts  which  mature. 
This  condition  exists  largely  in  the 
lower  elevations  in  Southern  California 
and  especially  in  the  coastal  portion, 
where  the  ameliorating  influence  of 
the  Pacific  is  felt.  This  same  condition 
exists  close  to  the  coast  in  the  northern 
portion  of  the  state.  Further  inland 
and  at  higher  elevations  the  winters 
are  more  pronounced,  and  where  these 
are  not  too  severe  or  prolonged  the  al- 
mond thrives  best. 


WHEN  WRITING  ADVERTISERS  MENTION   BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ig20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  41 


The  Ideal  Tractor 
Outfit  for  Orchard  Work 

This  Avery  Model  "C"  Six-Cylinder  Tractor  with  special  Avery 
Orchard  Plow  makes  the  ideal  outfit  for  orchard  work.  It  is  built 
low  enough  to  go  under  the  branches  and  close  up  to  the  trees — it 
can  be  mounted  with  long  rear  wheel  guards,  as  shown  above,  which 
gently  raise  low-hanging  limbs  and  pass  them  up  over  the  tractor 
without  injury.  The  plow  itself  is  extremely  low  in  height  and  it  too 
can  be  furnished  with  a  guard  to  protect  limbs  as  it  passes  under  them. 
This  tractor  has  a  swinging  drawbar  which  enables  you  to  pull  the 
plows  to  either  side  and  break  up  the  ground  as  close  to  the  trees  as 
you  wish  to  go. 

With  this  tractor  you  can  Averyize  your  orchard — make  it  a  better, 
more  profitable  investment.  You  can  more  easily  conserve  the  moisture 
and  soil  under  your  trees.  You  can  use  it  for  all  orchard  work — you 
can  turn  under  your  cover  crops  with  it  and  pull  harrows  and  culti- 
vator- as  well.  You  can  use  it  for  pulling  your  spraying  outfit,  and  for 
all  kinds  of  lighter  belt  work. 

This  Model  "C"  Avery  Tractor  is  built  with  a  powerful  six-cylinder 
motor — designed  and  built  complete  in  Avery  factories  especially  and 
only  for  Avery  Tractors.  It  is  furnished  complete  with  platform,  seat, 
tool  box,  drawbar,  air  cleaner,  etc. 

Write  for  special  circular  describing  this  tractor  and  also  the  Avery 
5-10  H.  P.  Model  "B  "  Tractor  illustrated  below  at  the  right. 

THE  AVERY  LINE 

includes  in  addition  to  these  two  small  tractors,  six  sizes  of  tractors 
from  8-16  to  40-80  H.  P.  built  with  "  Draft-Horse  "  Motors  and  "  Direct- 
Drive"  Transmissions;  "Self-Lift"  Moldboard  and  Disc  Plows; 
Listers  and  Grain-Drills;  "Self-Adjusting"  Tractor  Disc  Harrows.  Also 
Roller  Bearing  Threshers,  Silo  Fillers,  etc.  Write  for  the  Avery  Catalog. 
AVERY  COMPANY,  10708  Iowa  Street,  Peoria,  111. 
Feenaughty  Machinery  Co., Distributors,  Portland,  Oregon 

VERY 

Motor  Farming,  Threshing 
cind  Road  Building  Aisichinery 


Avery  Six-Cyl- 
inder Model 
"C"  Tractor 
pulling  specia 
.\very  Orchard 
Plow  hitched  to 
the  right. 


.-\ver>-  Six- 
Cylinder 
Model  "C" 
Tractor  pull- 
ing Special 
.\  V  e  r  y  O  r  - 
chare  Plow 
hitc'-ed  to 
the  :  ... 
Note  how 
close  it  is 
possible  to 
get  up  to 
the  trees. 


Avery  5-10  H.P.  Model  "B"  Tractor 

Here  is  an  ideal  tractor  for  a  small  orchard — 
sells  at  a  low  price^is  a  smaller  tractor  but 
very  similar  to  the  Six-Cylinder  Model  _"C" 
Avery.  Is  equipped  with  a  four-cylinder 
motor.     —  - 


WHEN    WRITING    ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  42 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ip20 


Some  Facts  About  Dry  Lime  Sulphur 

By  A.  J.  Gunderson,  Horticulturist  for  Sherwin-Williams  Company 


WITHIN  recent  years  the  Sherwin- 
Williams  Company  has  placed  on 
the  market  a  new  spray  product  known 
as  Dry  Lime  Sulfur.  This  has  been 
brought  about  by  a  process  of  stabiliz- 
ing 33°  Baume  lime  sulphur  solution  by 
the  addition  of  a  stabilizing  substance 
such  as  a  carbohydrate  or  a  sugar  fol- 
lowed by  a  special  process  of  drying. 
Orchardists  and  experiment  stations 
have  obtained  excellent  results  with 
dry  lime  sulphur  even  when  used  in 
lesser  amounts  than  would  have  been 
thought  necessary  when  judged  from 
the  experience  had  with  ordinary  lime 
sulphur  solution. 

While  this  fact  has  proven  of  great 
interest  to  all  orchardists  and  experi- 
ment stations  it  has  been  very  discon- 
certing to  a  few  critics  who  like  to  be- 
lieve that  since  sulphur,  chemically 
speaking  is  always  sulphur,  it  is  im- 
possible for  the  sulphur  in  Sherwin- 
Williams'  dry  lime  sulphur  to  be  more 
efficient  per  unit  of  sulphur  than  the 
sulphur  in  old-fashioned  lime  sulphur 
solution.  With  equal  assurance  one 
might  assert  that  carbon  is  always  car- 
bon and  that  willow  charcoal,  graphite 
and  the  diamond  are  equally  efficient 
and  yet  we  know  that  the  diamond  is 
worthless  for  kindling  a  fire  and  for 
writing  on  paper  or  as  a  component  of 
gunpowder;  likewise,  willow  charcoal 
is  not  a  brilliant,  sparkling  gem  in  de- 
mand by  jewelers  nor  can  it  be  used  to 
cut  glass. 

It  has  been  definitely  established  that 
lime  sulphur  solution  must  be  used  at 
the  rate  of  from  one  gallon  to  eight 
gallons  in  order  to  kill  San  Jose  scale. 
Every  fifty  gallons  of  diluted  spray 
therefore  will  contain  approximately 
five  and  one-half  gallons  of  lime  sul- 
phur solution,  or  a  total  of  approxi- 
mately fourteen  pounds  of  sulphur  in 
solution.  On  the  other  hand  the  results 
of  experiments  conducted  in  orchards 
infested  with  San  Jose  scale  have 
shown  that  dry  lime  sulphur  controlled 
San  Jose  scale  just  as  effectively  at 
strengths  recommended  by  the  Sher- 
win-Williams Company  although  con- 
taining considerably  less  amounts  of 
sulphur  in  solution.  Certain  experi- 
ments conducted  in  the  states  of  Wash- 
ington and  Illinois  in  the  spring  of  1919 
have  further  confirmed  such  recom- 
mendations and  in  certain  cases  dry 
lime  sulphur  proved  even  more  effect- 
ive in  the  control  of  San  Jose  scale  than 
lime  sulphur  solution. 

Experiments  conducted  in  certain 
other  states  have  shown  definitely  that 
dry  lime  sulphur  controlled  apple  scab 
and  peach  leaf  curl  just  as  effectively 
as  lime  sulphur  solution.  Furthermore 
it  has  been  demonstrated  that  dry  lime 
sulphur  used  in  combination  with  ar- 
senate of  lead  did  not  cause  foliage  in- 
jury and  incidentally  stimulated  an  un- 
usual finish  and  color  on  red  varieties 
of  apples. 

The  explanation  recognized  by  ento- 
mologists of  this  country  as  to  how  lime 
sulphur  kills  San  Jose  scale  is  that  sul- 
phur combined  with  calcium  to  form 


polysulfides  of  calcium  oxidizes  after 
having  been  applied  to  the  infested 
trees  and  that  oxygen  is  removed  from 
the  scale,  resulting  in  its  chemical  suffo- 
cation. It  is  very  probable  that  ento- 
mologists have  overlooked  the  fact  that 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  or  hydrogen  sul- 
fide is  extremely  toxic  to  both  insect 
and  plant  life  and  that  it  plays  an  im- 
portant role  in  sulphur  insecticides. 

Sulphuretted  hydrogen  is  a  gas  which 
is  not  generally  available  commercially 
and  if  it  were  available  it  could  not  be 
applied  easily  and  directly  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  kill  the  insect  and  not  in- 
jure the  tree.  The  most  satisfactory 
method  of  applying  sulphuretted  hy- 
drogen is  the  indirect  one  of  using  cal- 
cium polysulphide  or  so-called  lime  sul- 
phur. 

Lime  sulphur  solution  is  a  water  so- 
lution of  a  compound  of  calcium  and 
sulphur  known  to  the  chemist  as  cal- 
cium polysulphide,  together  with  lesser 
quantities  of  compounds  of  calcium 
sulphur  and  oxygen  such  as  calcium 
thiosulphate,  etc.  This  lime  sulphur 
solution  when  diluted  and  used  as  a 
spray  on  scaley  trees  decomposes  in 
the  presence  of  carbonic  acid  yielding 
sulphur,  hydrogen  sulphide  and  calcium 
carbonate.  Subsequently  other  reac- 
tions take  place  in  which  the  sulphur, 
calcium  thiosulphate  and  other  sulphur 
compounds  participate.  If  there  is  any 
difference  in  the  toxic  effect  of  a  unit 
of  sulphur  in  dry  and  liquid  lime  sul- 
phur there  must  be  reasons  for  that  dif- 
ference. Possibly  we  may  never  know 
all  of  the  reasons,  but  we  believe  the 
phenomena  may  be  explained  in  part  as 
follows: 

We  believe  that  the  spray  made  from 
dry  lime  sulphur  has  greater  wetting 
and  spreading  and  penetrating  power. 
The  film  resulting  from  a  spray  of  dry 
lime  sulphur  is  less  permeable  to  de- 
composing gases  and  vapors;  and  al- 
though more  tenuous  is  more  integral 
and  coherent.  The  film  resulting  from 
a  spray  of  dry  lime  sulphur  dissolves 
anr  retains  the  liberated  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  for  a  longer  time.  The  film 
directly  in  contact  with  the  scale  insect 
is  decomposed  by  the  carbonic  acid  and 
other  organic  acids  produced  by  the 
transpiration  of  the  insect  perhaps  to 
even  a  greater  extent  than  by  the  car- 
bonic acid  of  the  air.  Owing  to  the 
lesser  permeability  of  the  film  from  dry 
lime  sulphur  there  is  a  greater  concen- 
tration of  the  toxic  vapors  for  the  same 
length  of  time  or  an  equal  concentra- 
tion for  a  greater  length  of  time  per 
unit  of  sulphur  as  compared  with  the 
film  of  ordinary  lime  sulphur  solution. 
In  other  words,  when  dry  lime  sulphur 
is  used  a  larger  percentage  of  the  sul- 
phur content  goes  into  the  insect  and 
less  to  the  atmosphere  than  is  the  case 
when  lime  sulphur  solution  is  used. 

It  is  possible  that  the  toxicity  of  the 
sulphur  liberated  from  dry  lime  sul- 
phur is  somewhat  greater  than  that  lib- 
erated from  ordinary  lime  sulphur  solu- 
tion for  the  reason  that  the  former  is 
in  a  state  of  extreme  division,  almost 


colloidal  in  fact,  and  the  stabilizer  re- 
tains it  as  if  it  were  in  a  sort  of  a  gel. 

Orchardists  are  interested  more  spe- 
cially in  what  dry  lime  sulphur  will 
accomplish  under  actual  orchard  condi- 
tions. In  view  of  the  fact  that  dry  lime 
sulphur  will  give  just  as  good  results 
as  lime  sulphur  solution  in  the  same 
orchard,  we  believe  that  the  explana- 
tion just  given  is  a  sound  and  satisfac- 
tory one. 

The  Sherwin-Williams  Company  has 
based  its  recommendations  for  the  use 
of  dry  lime  sulphur  upon  the  results  of 
careful  orchard  tests  and  further  sub- 
stantiates its  claims  for  this  product 
upon  the  fact  that  thousands  of  fruit 
growers  are  using  dry  lime  sulphur 
with  most  excellent  results.  Dry  lime 
sulphur  will  not  only  control  effectively 
the  insects  and  fungous  diseases  for 
which  it  is  recommended  but,  further- 
more, eliminates  all  of  the  objectionable 
features  connected  with  lime  sulphur 
solution.  These  include  loss  due  to 
leakage,  freezing,  crystallization  and 
great  weight  in  handling.  Orchardists 
everywhere  are  familiar  with  these  ob- 
jectionable features. 

Dry  lime  sulphur  is  rapidly  becoming 
a  standard  spray  material  and  it  is  our 
prediction  that  it  will  entirely  supplant 
lime  sulphur  solution  in  two  or  three 
years. 


CUSHMAN 

Light  Weight 

Farm  Engines 

Built  light,  b  Jilt  right— for 
farmers  who  want  an  en- 
^ne  to  do  many  jobs  in 
many  places,  instead  of 
one  job  in  one  place.  Easy 
to  move  around.  Equipped 
with  Throttling  Governor, 
Carburetor, Friction  Clutch 
Pulley  and  Water  Circu- 
lating Pump.  (323) 

4  H.  P.  Weighs  Only  190  Lbs. 

Mounted  on  light  truck,  it  may  be  pulled  around 
by  hand.  Just  the  engine  for  power  sprayers  be- 
cause of  light  weight  and  very  steady  speed, 
giving  uniform  distribution  and  a  thorough  job. 
8  h.  p.,  2-cylinder,  for  heavier  work,  weighs  only 
320  lbs.  Book  on  Light  Weight  Engines  sent  free. 

CUSHMAN  MOTOR  WORKS 
978  N.  21st  Street        Lincoln,  Neb. 
Northwest  Branch:  248  Hawthorne  Au.,  Portland,  Ore. 
Full  Stock  of  Repairs  at  Portland 


WHEN  WRITING  APVEBTISEHS  MENTION  BETTER  FBXTIT 


April,  ip20 


BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  43 


Hauling  a  Capacity 
Load  on  Plowed 
Ground.  Interna- 
tional 2 -ton  Motor 
Truck  owned  by  Mr. 
K.  Taguchi,  the 
well- known  Canta- 
loupe King  of  Rocky 
Ford,  Col. 


Where  the  Going  is  Hardest 

On  the  clay  roads  of  the  Mississippi  Basin  — 

In  the  loose  sandy  soil  of  the  California  orchar  ds  and  along 

Florida's  sandy  forest  roads  — 

On  the  steep  and  rocky  slopes  of  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  West 

Virginia,  Colorado,  and  Tennessee,  where  the  up-hill  hauling  is  severest  — 
In  Montana,  the  Dakotas,  and  ^Minnesota,  where  the  snows  are  deepest — 
In  plowed  fields,  on  country  roads  and  mountain  trails  —  wherever 

road  and  weather  conditions  make  hauling  most  difficult  — 

You  Will  See  International  Motor  Trucks 

The  toughest  hauHng  problems  are  being  solved  with  International  Motor 
Trucks.  They  are  conquering  the  difficult  jobs.  They  are  proving  be3'ond  all 
question  that  Internationals  are  built  to  do  the  work  and  keep  going.  They  are 
making  good  where  others  fail. 

That  is  why  you  find  Internationals  most  numerous  where  hauling  conditions 
are  most  stubborn  —  they  stand  the  strain  of  constant  daily  grind  —  they  can  be 
depended  on  to  force  their  way  right  ahead  —  they  are  always  ready  for  hard  jobs 
—  they  give  dependable  service  day  after  day  at  low  cost. 

Your  farming  will  be  easier,  more  pleasant  and  more  profitable  when  3'ou  are 
the  owner  of  an  International  Motor  Truck.  Sizes  to  choose  from,  ^-ton  to 
3>^-ton.  Branch  houses,  distributors  and  dealers  everywhere.  Write  us  for  a 
catalog  and  let  us  answer  3'our  questions. 

International  Harvester  company 

OF  AMERICA 

(INCORPORATED) 

Billings,  Mont.         Cheyenne,  Wyo.        Denver,  Colo.         Helena,  Mon. 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.  Portland,  Ore.  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Scin  Francisco,  Cal.  Spokane,  Wash. 


WHEN   WRITING  ADVERTISERS   MENTION    BETTER  FRUIT 


Page  44 


BETTER  FRUIT 


April,  ig20 


SPRING  WHEAT— Fancy  recleaned  stock  of 
Marquis  —  Blue  Stem  —  Early  Baart  —  Folse 
SPRING  RYE— Speltz  (Emmer)— BARLEY 

For  complete  list  of  Grains,  Grasses,  Farm  and  Field  Seeds,  see  our  1920  Catalog. 
Free  on  Request — Ask  for  Catalogue  No.  200 


More  than  half  the 
cars  on  the  Coast- 

More  than  half  the  motorists  of  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  states  use  Zerolene.  Such 
approval  is  given  only  as  a  reward  to  a 
product  of  highest  quality.  Use  Zerolene 
for  the  Correct  Lubrication  of  your  auto- 
mobile, truck  or  tractor. 

STANDARD  OIL  COMPANY  (California) 


The  Comparatively  Low  Cost 
of  Spraying 

By  Chas.  L.  Robinson,  District  Horticultural 
Inspector,  Yakima,  Washington. 

Notwithstanding  the  constant  educa- 
tional efforts  to  teach  them,  many 
fruitgrowers  do  not  seem  to  realize  how 
low  the  cost  of  spraying  is  in  compari- 
son with  other  orchard  operations  and 
therefore  frequently  neglect  to  follow 
up  one  of  the  most  important  phases  of 
successful  fruit  growing.  Naturally  all 
growers  are  anxious  to  produce  as  large 
a  percentage  of  extra  fancy  fruit  as 
possible.  In  order  to  do  this  it  is  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  them  to  keep 
their  trees  free  from  disease  and  insect 
pests. 

The  following  figures,  therefore,  com- 
piled by  a  Washington  apple  grower 
will  be  of  interest  to  those  who  balk  at 
spraying  on  account  of  the  cost.  These 
figures  which  give  the  cost  per  box  of 
applying  the  lime-sulphur  and  arsenate 
of  lead  sprays  are  as  follows: 


Age  of  Trees: 

10 

15 

20 

Lime-sulphur — ■ 

Years 

Years 

Years 

.  .  ,  .045 

.045 

.047 

Arsenate  of  Lead — 

.022 

.02 

.02 

.11 

.10 

.10 

The  above  figures  are  computed  on 
a  basis  of  a  crop  of  250  boxes  to  the 
acre  on  10-year  old  trees,  400  boxes 
per  acre  from  the  15-year  old  trees  and 
500  boxes  per  acre  on  30-year  old  trees. 
Amount  of  material  used  is  based  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  horticultural  de- 
partment regarding  amounts  of  material 
necessary  for  orchards  of  different  ages. 
Labor  costs  are  computed  on  a  basis  of 
$15.00  per  day  for  man,  team  and  spray- 
er and  40  cents  per  hour  for  nozzlemen. 
Lead  is  computed  on  a  basis  of  30  cents 
per  pound  for  arsenate  of  lead  and  30 
cents  per  gallon  for  the  lime-sulphur 
solution,  32  degree  concentrate. 

There  occurred  at  Wenatchee  the  past 
season  an  instance  of  which  many  have 
probably  heard  and  which  could  be 
duplicated  without  a  doubt  in  a  number 
of  districts  here  if  growers  would  go 
together  on  a  similar  proposition.  In 
brief  the  Sunnyslope  district  at  Wenat- 
chee had  so  many  worms  during  the 
1918  season  that  most  of  the  fruit  grow- 
ers were  becoming  discouraged.  Several 
orchards  ran  more  than  40  per  cent  to 
60  per  cent  worms  and  for  the  section 
as  a  whole  25  per  cent  of  worms  was 
considered  a  very  low  estimate.  Last 
spring  they  got  together,  assessed  them- 
selves $1.00  per  acre  for  the  district, 
which  comprised  a  little  over  1000  acres 
and  through  the  horticultural  depart- 
ment they  hired  a  man  to  supervise 
their  spraying.  This  plan  was  so  suc- 
cessful that  for  the  1919  season  the  en- 
tire area  averaged  less  than  two  per 
cent  worms  and  a  number  of  growers 
there  have  estimated  that  the  $1,000  in- 
vestment saved  them  at  least  $50,000. 

From  the  above  figures  and  results 
obtained  in  the  Wenatchee  district  it 
will  be  seen  that  no  fruit  grower  can 
afford  not  to  spray. 


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WORLD 
OUR  ORCHARD 


OUR  ORCHARD  ^ 

&  Kf  LLY 

I  NEW  YORK  I 

bnOUE^TI'PMflbLY  THE 

in  THE  bl5TRIBUTPI1  ' 
THE    UNTf^Y'3  FflNCY 

APPLET 

AND  OTHER.  FR.V/ITJ 


OUR  MARKtT- 
THE  WORLD 


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For  Plowing  and  Discing 
-  THE  CLETRAC 

Put  a  Cletrac  to  work  this  Spring.  It  will  replace 
six  to  eight  horses — do  more  kinds  of  work — more 
days  a  year  —  save  time  and  cut  costs.  It  will  speed 
up  your  plowing  and  discing  —  allow  you  to  put 
more  acres  under  cultivation  and  produce  bigger 
crops. 

The  Cletrac  used  alone  or  in  "fleets"  is  the  right 
size  and  type  for  almost  every  ranch  —  the  one 
tractor  adapted  to  all  conditions. 

No  difference  how  soft  and  slippery  the  soil  is — 
the  Cletrac  travels  lightly  over  the  surface  on  its 
own  endless  track  without  sinking  in  or  packing. 
It  is  light,  surefooted  and  powerful.  The  Cletrac 
"gets"  all  the  comers  also,  because  it  can  turn 
short.  Swings  back  to  the  furrow  quickly,  with- 
out loss  of  time  or  power. 

In  the  orchard,  too,  the  Cletrac  is  at  home.  Low 
hung,  with  no  projections,  it  weaves  in  and  out 
among  trees  without  injury  to  them.  Use  it  to 
move  your  spray  about. 

And  remember  the  Cletrac  operates  perfectly 
on  kerosene,  distillate  or  "gas". 

Write  today  for  that  interesting  booklet,  "Select- 
ing Your  Tractor"  —  it's  free. 


Easy  going 
on  a  trac\, 
the  Cletrac 
way. 


Pacific  Coast 
Sales  Ojjices: 

LOS  ANGELES,  CAL. 
SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 
SPOKANE,  WASH. 


Qcvelond  Tractor  Co. 


19145  EUCLID  AVENUE 

CLEVELAND 
OHIO 


Largest  producers 
of  Tan\  Type 
Tractors 
in  the  world. 


One  of  the  more  than  1,200  Cletrac  dealers  with  repair  stoc\s  is  near  you. 


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